Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023: Greg Chappell cites Mike Tyson to analyse Australia’s shambollic defeats

Australia
have
already
conceded
the
Border-Gavaskar
Trophy
after
being
hammered
in
the
first
two
Tests
of
the
four-match
series,
both
games
ending
under
three
days
and
prompting
sharp
reactions
from
the
country’s
former
cricketers.

“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.

Border-Gavaskar
Trophy
2023:
Pat
Cummins
to
miss
Indore
Test;
Steve
Smith
to
lead
Australia

“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
wrote
in
the
Sydney
Morning
Herald.
He
has
also
questioned
Australia’s
planning
for
the
ongoing
tour
of
the
country.

“It
is
one
thing
to
plan,
but
to
base
that
plan
on
a
flawed
premise
is
an
exercise
in
futility,”
he
added.
Beaten
by
an
innings
and
132
runs
in
Nagpur,
Australia
opted
to
go
in
with
only
one
pacer
in
Delhi
—
skipper
Pat
Cummins.
They
dropped
Scott
Boland
and
handed
debut
to
left-arm
spinner
Matthew
Kuhnemann.

“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.

“We
had
to
pick
our
best
bowlers
and
trust
them
to
do
the
job
and
back
that
with
sensible
batting,
based
on
sound
principles.”
He
said
leaving
out
Boland
for
an
extra
spinner
was
a
mistake.

“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
also
gave
his
views
on
the
Australian
batters’ overreliance
on
the
sweep
shots
—
which
led
to
their
downfall
—
in
the
second
innings
of
the
Delhi
Test.

“Adding
it
to
your
repertoire
in
spinning
conditions
can
be
sensible,
but
not
if
it
is
the
only
option.
There
are
other
shots
that
are
less
risky
and
likely
to
be
more
profitable
but,
because
the
sweep
for
most
batsmen
has
to
be
pre-meditated,
the
other
options
invariably
fall
by
the
wayside.

“One
of
the
first
things
to
learn
about
batting
in
Indian
conditions
is
that
you
have
more
time
than
you
realise.
The
main
goal
should
be
to
survive
the
first
couple
of
overs
and
rotate
the
strike.
If
you
can
survive
that,
then
batting
no
longer
seems
as
challenging
as
Fermat’s
Last
Theorem.”

India
won
the
second
Test
in
Delhi
by
six
wickets
despite
Australia
having
their
nose
ahead
at
one
stage
of
the
game.
The
visitors
reduced
India
to
139
for
seven
in
their
first
innings
but
a
114-run
partnership
between
Ravichandran
Ashwin
and
Axar
Patel
rescued
the
hosts.

Then,
in
their
second
innings,
Australia
were
going
along
nicely
before
committing
a
harakiri
on
the
third
morning.
“What
can
Australia
do
from
here?
Firstly,
pick
their
best
team
and
then
play
with
the
passion,
tenacity
and
grit
which
is
our
hallmark.
Australian
fans
know
that
it
is
tough
in
India.

“They
can
accept
getting
beaten
by
a
better
side,
but
they
won’t
cop
seeing
an
Australian
team
playing
recklessly
and
bowled
out
in
a
session
or
two
and
turning
its
toes
up
inside
three
days.
There
is
red-hot
anger,
bewilderment
and
embarrassment
in
our
fans,”
Chappell
said.
The
remaining
two
Tests
are
scheduled
in
Indore
and
Ahmedabad.