Michael Di Venuto, Australia’s batsman, said Tuesday that Australia’s attempt to score quick runs in the second innings at Delhi Test was a mistake that cost them the game.
Di Venuto stated that Australia’s batting plan was working until a dramatic collapse, when they lost eight wickets for 28 runs. The collapse was triggered by Steve Smith’s dismissal from the sweep shot. Australia were all out for just 113 runs in 31.1 overs. India had only 115 runs left to win the Test. India won the match in 26.4 overs and six wickets more.
“Plans were certainly right. “Our plans are great, but if people abandon their plans, they’re going get in trouble,” Di Venuto stated here on Tuesday.
“We were nearly ahead of the game, but the feeling was just looking at it was, “geez, if only we could get 50 more runs real fast”, which is impossible in this country. It’s something we’ve discussed before, so it’s not new.
“But pressure can do strange things, and we saw many people try to sweep their way to a score. Although it’s not all bad news, the 90 minutes of batting were certainly not memorable.
Many Australian batters died while trying to sweep, and Di Venuto acknowledged that the shot carries a high risk for those who aren’t skilled at it. Di Venuto stated that most Australian batters used the shot to try to score and not to trust their defense to survive.
“It was quite obvious where we had gone wrong. It’s the same with batting. You have to swim between flags in this country (India). “If you don’t follow your game plan, you will get in trouble,” he said. He also mentioned the skill that Usman Khawaja used to sweep his way to a series average in Pakistan of 150 plus and nearly 50 during the Test campaign in Sri Lanka. It’s smart. He’s not using it for defense. That’s what I believe happened towards the backend of Australia’s second innings. Their defense was not trusted by the people.”
Newsthatsnew
