IND vs AUS | India will be embarrassed by Day 3 performance, feels Mike Hussey

In the span of an hour, India went from possibly becoming the first country to beat Australia in a day-night Test to posting the lowest Test score in their history. The 60-minute-madness that ensued on Saturday is still unfathomable for many, but few understand the pain of going through such a nightmare better than Mike Hussey. Hussey was a part of the Australian team that got bowled out for 47 against South Africa 9 years ago in what, until yesterday, was arguably the craziest collapse of the century. However, the Aussies put the defeat behind them in no time and roared back with aggression to win the next Test, and this is the same kind of aggression Hussey wants India to show.

Speaking on ESPN Cricinfo, the legendary Australian claimed that India will be embarrassed by their showing, and hoped for them to show character and bounce back in the second Test at MCG.

“I think the Melbourne pitch will suit them a little bit more, so they can take confidence from that. I hope to see a response. They will be embarrassed by their performance. I was in a team which was bowled out for 47, and it was embarrassing. You wanna put in a better performance next time. I think there will be some psychological blows there,” Hussey said on ESPN Cricinfo.

“It’s a bit of a hammer-blow. Last time they were here India won the first Test match, and it just gave them a lot of confidence and belief that they could win the series. Now suddenly they go 1-0 down, their captain heads home, Shami is gone for scans - I think the confidence would have taken a hit today.”

India’s batting has rightfully come under scrutiny for the debacle on Saturday, but Hussey, like many, expressed his sympathy for the Indian batters. The 45-year-old acknowledged that India could have done better, but stated that the collapse had more to do with the quality of the Aussie bowlers, who according to him were nothing short of perfect.

“Put it this way: I don’t think it’s a 36 all-out wicket. It’s not that bad. I think India will be very disappointed. But this Australian attack was relentless with the lines and lengths they bowled. I think they made adjustments from the first innings where they bowled a little bit short of a length in the first innings. 

“It looked good, the balls were going past the outside edge, but they weren’t getting the wickets. They made the adjustment to bowl a foot fuller. Particularly someone like a Josh Hazlewood tried to get that pink-ball up.“

In the same show, meanwhile, Aakash Chopra also touched upon a host of issues, including India’s fielding. The visitors put down crucial catches of Labuschagne and Paine, which eventually led to their downfall, and Chopra said he had no idea how and why the tourists were spilling everything that came their way.

“I can’t explain why India is dropping so many catches. This is a decent fielding unit, they’ve taken good catches. They don’t drop as many catches. It’s just that they’ve not been able to hold on to too many ever since they set foot on Australia. I do not have an answer as to why it is happening and how it will improve. I’m pretty sure they are working extra hours in taking more catches; it’s not just sticking, I don’t know why. Fingers crossed in Melbourne at least we don’t drop catches.”