'India were below their best. Once they won the toss, they thought...': Mark Waugh's bold remark after Indore Test resul
After the match, former Australia cricketer Mark Waugh launched a criticism on India for being “complacent” and well “below their mark”.
India began their bid to defend 75 on the third day of the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in dramatic fashion with Ravichandran Ashwin dismissing Usman Khawaja in just the second ball of the innings. But that remained India's solitary moment of joy as the partnership of Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne wrapped up the chase in just over an hour to script an emphatic nine-wicket win in Indore and pull one back in the series. After the match, former Australia cricketer Mark Waugh launched a criticism on India for being “complacent” and well “below their mark”.
India were a win away from clinching the series for the fourth straight time. With wins in Nagpur and New Delhi, both of which were also secured within three days, India had already retained the trophy. Australia, on the other hand, were completely written off by experts and veterans of the game who predicted a 4-0 whitewash. But in Indore, the script changed.
On tricky Indore track, where 14 wickets fell on Day 1 and 16 on Day 2, Australia dominated throughout the match. They had folded India for 109 in just over a session on the first morning before sneaking an 87-run lead. But it was Nathan Lyon who played the wrecker-in-chief with his tally of 13 wickets in the match.
Analysing India's performance in the Indore game, Waugh, in conversation with Fox Cricket, slammed India for being complacent. He explained that the batters threw their wickets with over-attacking shots while bowlers were nowhere near as accurate as they were in the last two matches. India further stated that it is India who now have the thinking to do for the fourth Test match.
“I think India took their foot off the pedal. I think they became complacent. Once they won the toss, they thought it would just happen for them. They did not get their right balance between attack and defence. Few of their batters threw their wickets away by over-attacking shots. With the ball, in the first innings, they were where near accurate as they can be. They bowled a lot of half volleys. I think India have a lot of thinking to do now. They got to bounce back because they were way below their best in the game,” he said.
