Australia have done it again — collapsing to all out for 113 within an hour and a half of the start of play.
After the Aussies lost all 10 wickets in the second innings of the first Test, it lost 9/52 in another abysmal display with the bat.
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Australia had been much better in the second Test, scoring a competitive score in the first innings before having India 7/139 on day two.
But Axar Patel’s 74 changed the match, leaving Australia just a one-run lead in a match in which India could wrap up the series with a win.
While Australia showed some heart late on day two, day three was a horror show.
In 90 minutes, Australia went from 1/65 to all out for 113, with sweeps and reverse sweeps undoing all the good work from Australia.
Aussie cricket legend Allan Border panned the Aussies’ performance as no player seemed interested in sticking around for the long haul.
“I’m disappointed, I’m shell-shocked, I’m angry about the way we went about our work today,” Border said.
“It was panicky, frenetic batting. No one tried to get in there and stem the flow with some good defensive cricket. They were just getting out playing sweep shots, reverse sweeps to just about every ball.
“You just can’t get away with that on this sort of track. You’ve got to have a method where you play within your limitations. You’re not playing on a flat belter where you can expand your game. When playing on a difficult surface, you’ve got to work out where your scoring options are and bat some time at the crease.”
Border took aim at Steve Smith’s dismissal and said: “When you’re playing cross bat shots and the ball is not bouncing, he miss that by a mile. You’re just giving the opportunity for the umpire to give him out
Michael Hussey said the Aussies were ruined by their attempt to constantly sweep across the line, calling it a “low percentage shot”.
While Hussey was critical of some of the dismissals, the worst wicket was that of Cummins.
On his first ball, the captain came on and played way over the ball to be bowled by Jadeja.
It was a ridiculous shot and Hussey was far from pleased.
“That’s just a horrible shot from the captain,” Hussey said.
“That’s terrible,” Brendan Julian agreed. “I don’t know what he was thinking Pat Cummins. First ball, I reckon he just thought ‘I’m going to be positive’ and panicked.”
Hussey continued: “He’s thought ‘I’m just going to get a quick 30’ to change the momentum of the game and get our lead up as much as we could.”
Next was Alex Carey who played down completely the wrong line with a reverse sweep to lose his off-stump.
Julian said: “That was horrible from Alex Carey.”
Border joked: “I’m buying him a T-shirt, I’m banning the reverse sweep. This sort of cricket on these pitches, it’s not a high percentage shot. It’s the lowest percentage shot you can play, I just don’t get it.”
Border criticised the aggression from the Aussies and said “you can be positive in defence”.
Earlier, Matthew Hayden took aim at the ridiculous batting from the Aussies.
Hayden, who starred in Australia’s 2004 series win in India on the back of the sweep, said Australia had gone way too far with the tactic.
“I can’t believe what I’ve just witnessed here,” Hayden said in commentary on Fox Cricket.
“(They’ve gone way too far with the sweep) Way too far. These are world class players and they have everything to win and everything to lose in this session. They did it so well last evening.
“What we’ve seen here is a disaster for Australia. It’s a disaster because they’ve gone way over the edge in terms of their aggressive play.
“What professional in life just hopes. No way. You’ve got to have a method and you have to think on your feet. You’ve got about 13 people in that dug out not playing the game all having their say on it.”
The chaotic scenes swap plenty of people piling on the disastrous scenes.
