Australia punched themselves in the mouth long before the first ball was even bowled: Greg Chappell
Former Australia captain Greg Chappell has not minced his words ahead of the third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Former Australia captain Greg Chappell has lashed out at the Australian side. (AP Photo)
By India Today Sports Desk: Former Australia captain Greg Chappell has lashed out at the Australian side for their terrible showing at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Australia are 2-0 down after 2 Test matches in the subcontinent, having lost both their matches by big margin. While the Pat Cummins side lost the opening Test match at Nagpur by an innings and 132 runs, the second match saw the visitors lose the game by 6 wickets.
In his column at the Sydney Morning Herald, Chappell has writen that Australia punched themselves in the mouth before the first ball was even bowled.
“It was Mike Tyson who said in the lead-up to a fight with Evander Holyfield: Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth,” Chappell wrote in his column.
“My concern after watching the first two Tests is that the Australian team punched themselves in the mouth long before the first ball was even bowled,” Chappell further added.
The former captain disagreed with the strategy of the side and said that Australia’s plan is based on a false premise.
“It is one thing to plan, but to base that plan on a flawed premise is an exercise in futility,” Chappell questioned the need of a third specialist spinner in Delhi Test match.
“Australia needed to play to their strengths to have a chance of winning this series. Spin bowling is not our strength. Picking spinners for the sake of it is not the way to success in India,” Chappell did not mince his words.
“We had to pick our best bowlers and trust them to do the job and back that with sensible batting, based on sound principles,” Chappell further added.
Stating that Scott Boland should not have been benched for the second Test match, the former batter said that Australia got their entire planning wrong while bowling to Indians.
“That Cummins under-bowled himself and failed to use the short ball on a wicket of variable bounce was another mistake. To complete the trifecta, it seems that no one saw fit to tell Cummins that he was under-bowling and that he should use the short ball,” Chappell wrote.
The third Test match begins in Indore on March 1.
