The home team’s bowlers did not put a foot wrong, but “surprisingly” on the second day at the Optus Stadium the pitch dried out fairly quickly, which ultimately helped the Indian batsmen, says Australia coach Andrew McDonald. India’s openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (90) and KL Rahul (62) frustrated the hosts with a dogged, unbeaten 172-run stand that put the visitors firmly in control, who now lead by 218 runs. While wickets fell in heaps with as many as 17 batsmen getting out on the opening day, only three of Australia’s tail-enders were dismissed on the second day. “The surface looked pretty dry today. It dried pretty quickly,” McDonald said at a news conference that day.
“I thought it would have been a little bit more, so if you want to say I was a little surprised, there wasn’t a lot of seam movement or swing.
“The bowlers showed their seams in a similar way to yesterday, so I think the circumstances may have had some impact.” McDonald said there was little help with seams or swings compared to the first day.
“If you look at the seam and swing, it has dropped a lot compared to yesterday. Yesterday was a tough task, but I think KL (Rahul) and Jaiswal also played really well.
“You have to get a little bit lucky. Our guys had the ball in the right area and we had some plays and mistakes. So when you have the upper hand anything can happen. It could be a completely different day. But I think the conditions have changed. “I will tell you,” he said.
“I don’t think it was all that different in the way we bowled. Potentially we might have been a bit short early on. If it mattered, I thought they did a good job. It was a different day.” But McDonald does not believe Australia will not get a chance in the series opener and is pinning his hopes on the nature of Test cricket that keeps both teams in the hunt until the end.
“You’re in the driver’s seat now, but that doesn’t mean tomorrow can’t change very quickly. Test the ebb and flow of cricket. We were all part of the game when you were way ahead. The game can twist and change, so tomorrow morning “We need to get to work on what that will look like for us,” he said.
“There are about 20 overs to go with the second new ball. We need to figure out a way to get through a few batsmen before the second new ball arrives and that could be the entry point back into the game.” But he admitted, “We have to come up with the right tactics.”
“If we are too aggressive, the scoreboard will come into play and we will fight against it. So it is a real combination of controlling the tempo of the game and creating opportunities within it.” Given the situation India find themselves in, it is possible that McDonald would prefer not to look that far into the future, although the hosts may be looking at a tight chase of 400-plus.
“We are not looking too far into the future. We have 10 wickets to get first, so that is our first focus. No, there is no target. We definitely need to get 10 wickets and we will prioritize and then move from there. It will be.” Speaking about the hectic first day, the Australian coach admitted it could have been due to the tension players on both teams felt due to the situation.
“No doubt both teams would have had some courage leading up to a big series so there may have been some errors behind it but when you look at the wicket you think as a batting unit and obviously the bowlers have done their job and got a second chance. I think it’s a little bit different in terms of mindset, knowing what’s expected and being able to work from there.” McDonald also assisted Marnus Labuschagne, who consumed 52 pitches for two runs in the first inning.
“He’s playing harder than ever, and there’s no doubt he can learn a few lessons from the first inning, just like the batsmen on both teams.
“So he’ll be the same in the nets this morning. We’ll study what his methods are going to be in the second innings. And obviously your mindset changes depending on the conditions as well. So here’s the game plan from the first innings. “Please show the difference from the second time.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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