New Delhi, Oct 31
Former India pacer Atul Wasan has termed India's batting collapse in the second T20I against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne “a concernâ€, saying that the World Cup-winning team showed traces of overconfidence and failed to play to its potential.
Australia took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series with a commanding four-wicket win, chasing down 126 with 40 balls to spare.
Reflecting on India's defeat, Wasan said T20 cricket leaves no room for recovery once momentum slips. "What to say about T20Is? If it goes wrong suddenly, you can't recover. Once a few overs or sessions go against you, the match is gone from your hands," he told IANS.
Skipper Mitchell Marsh led from the front with a brisk 46 off 26 balls, while Travis Head's 28 ensured Australia were never under pressure despite losing a few wickets late. Josh Hazlewood set up the win with a devastating opening burst, returning figures of 3-13 as India were bowled out for 125 in 18.4 overs. Only Abhishek Sharma offered resistance, top-scoring with 68.
Wasan was critical of India's batting performance. "You are losing 10 wickets within 18 overs -- that's a concern. Though we dismissed six of their batters, it still shows we didn't play to our potential," he remarked.
The former cricketer said that a degree of experimentation was understandable after India's World Cup triumph. "It's a new team now. You've won the World Cup, and 2-3 players might move on, so this is the time to try combinations -- every team does that from one World Cup to the next," he said.
When asked about playing in Australia, Wasan dismissed suggestions that conditions were difficult for Indian players. "That was the old story. We have started winning in Australia; it's not like before when you'd lose 80% of matches. We now have players who perform anywhere in the world," he said.
However, he warned against complacency. "From this loss, it's clear there's a little overconfidence. Only two players reached double figures. A collective collapse for a good team should not become a pattern," Wasan added.
India's innings never recovered after Hazlewood's early strikes. Jasprit Bumrah's expensive third over, conceding 18 runs, gave Australia early momentum, and Harshit Rana's no-ball and twin sixes in the next over deepened India's troubles. Varun Chakaravarthy's double strikes -- dismissing Head and Tim David -- and Kuldeep Yadav's late wickets of Marsh and Josh Inglis offered some resistance, but Marcus Stoinis guided Australia home safely to take the lead in the series.
- IANS
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