The tables have turned. It shows Australia did not prepare well for the series. It's impossible to beat Team India in India.
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Former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman and captain Ramiz Raja has declared that beating the Indian squad on their home turf is impossible. Australia may have tied the series and reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy if it hadn’t been for Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on Day 3 of the second Test at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium. However, the spin twins were able to turn the tide in the hosts’ favour by casting a web around the Australian batsmen, causing a collapse. With the Aussies losing the plot and their wickets in a heap, the hosts were forced to chase a meagre goal in order to establish an unassailable series lead.
India reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a six-wicket victory. Ramiz Raja praised skipper Rohit Sharma and his entire team in a video posted to his YouTube account. He also singled out Jadeja for special mention for his outstanding performance with the ball in both innings. The former PCB chairman also praised all-rounder Axar Patel, whose crucial 74-run innings enabled India to recover from a grave situation in their first innings.
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“The clincher was Axar Patel’s knock in the first innigs. He stitched a crucial partnership with Ashwin at a time when Australia would have entertained hopes of skittling India out for a low score and taking a sizeable lead. Australia did not demonstrate the necessary mental toughness to thrive on these surfaces and there are obvious technical flaws in their batting. Their batting against spin left much to be desired. They played the wrong shots,” Raja said.
The former player was unsparing in his criticism of Australia for failing to stand up to spin, “Australia would do to teams from the sub-continent on tailor-made surfaces at Perth or Brisbane what India did to them at Delhi. The tables have turned. It shows Australia did not prepare well for the series. It’s impossible to beat Team India in India. It was an ordinary performance against spin. They lost 9 wickets in a single session. Jadeja came up with an exceptional bowling effort,” the former Pakistan skipper said.
