When was the last time Australia showed so little fight?

[Lord]

even after conceding a lead of 200 runs the last thing u expected of aussies was to give up easily.but the way they bowled in 2nd innings it looked like they have resigned to the fate.yes ,our batters batted very well,but barring a few deliveries they were rarely tested by aussies.even michael hussey bowled a few overs. n lee didnt bowl in morning session today. when aussie batting one expected stodgy resistance from them,but first ball n we knew it wasnt the case.hayden n katich,who normally bats slowly, batted as if they wanted to win in a session.it worked for a while, but it was always going to be suicidal.result aus lost 5 wickets for nine runs.shots by hussey,katich n hayden were pathetic.later haddin n clarke showed that if u apply urselves,it was not an unplayable pitch. its good from india's POV but i'm surprised by aussie approach.even a commie said that he hasnt seen an aus team look so 'flat'

[DomainK]

I dont think there is anything surprising there. They were cornered and did not have an escape. Their insticts told them that the only way out was an early and unexpected onslaught to throw the relatively inexperienced Indian bowlers out of rhythm. That was not a bad ploy at all. May be an Ishant Sharma and a Mishra, who are fairly inexperienced, would panic under such brutal attack. May be a Bhajji will settle down to his normal faster and flatter deliveries when attacked. They remembered how ZAK had panicked in the WC final. If they had succeeded, the middle and lower order would have got a better chance of defending out. Instinctively they went for that strategy. Thats what Australians know- attack. So it was indeed a good strategy that didnt work at all. It was risky and it backfired on them. Partly because they mis-executed it and partly because we played excellently. Either ways they were going to lose.....the question was how long they could delay the inevitable.

[Lord]

yeah but they havent played their attacking game throughout the series and wen they needed to stick to the game they have plyed so far,they changed it.hayden didnt even wait for a ball. i think it was over attacking

[Shane]

I dont think there is anything surprising there. They were cornered and did not have an escape. Their insticts told them that the only way out was an early and unexpected onslaught to throw the relatively inexperienced Indian bowlers out of rhythm. That was not a bad ploy at all. May be an Ishant Sharma and a Mishra' date= who are fairly inexperienced, would panic under such brutal attack. May be a Bhajji will settle down to his normal faster and flatter deliveries when attacked. They remembered how ZAK had panicked in the WC final. If they had succeeded, the middle and lower order would have got a better chance of defending out. Instinctively they went for that strategy. Thats what Australians know- attack. So it was indeed a good strategy that didnt work at all. It was risky and it backfired on them. Partly because they mis-executed it and partly because we played excellently. Either ways they were going to lose.....the question was how long they could delay the inevitable.

Sir Dom, uve summed it up brilliantly !!! :hatsoff:

[chanakya]

yeah but they havent played their attacking game throughout the series and wen they needed to stick to the game they have plyed so far' date='they changed it.hayden didnt even wait for a ball. i think it was over attacking[/quote'] It was overattacking but it did work for a while at least. Zaheer did loose the plot right? Harbajan brought us back into the game but it was always on. If the players are going for a hit then there is always the chance that one might get out. I think their plan was to hit out and force the field to spread after which they rotate the strike. was it risky hell ya, did it pay off? hell no :D

[Lord]

It was overattacking but it did work for a while at least. Zaheer did loose the plot right? Harbajan brought us back into the game but it was always on. If the players are going for a hit then there is always the chance that one might get out. I think their plan was to hit out and force the field to spread after which they rotate the strike. was it risky hell ya, did it pay off? hell no :D

why 'd the field spread with 500 runs to play with?i'm not surprised by hayden,but katich who normally is in dravid mood,played outrageous shots. it was risky and it wasnt worth it!

[Sachinism]

yup they did give up too early, the field was extremely defensive, they were just trying to delay the declaration by slowing down India's RR, but that didnt really happen either

[kablooee87]

When was the last time Australia showed so little fight? If a year ago I had been told that India would beat Australia at Mohali I wouldn't question it. Being told that the margin of defeat for the Australians would be greater than 350 runs would've prompted considerable doubt but even that I would've swallowed. But what has transpired on days 3,4, and 5 of this test match is something I simply never associated with Australian cricket. They folded. They went from a situation that wasn't all that bad to one where the outcome has been all but a formality for 4 (maybe 5) sessions now. Heck, even when it is a formality, you usually see them fighting tooth and nail. Instead, we see a team that seems to have convinced itself that it simply isn't going to win. The Aussie "aura" died quite some time ago but this something entirely different. This series is now more interesting than ever for me because my gut tells me they still have a fight in them. I doubt it'll be enough to draw this series simply because of talent gap isn't big enough to just "turn it on" and see results but the reaction to this loss will be very significant.

[kablooee87]

last* Goddammit I always screw thread titles up. [edit by Salil: fixed, no worries]

[Mr. Wicket]

Back in the 1980s after the retirements of Chappell, Lillee and Marsh, before Border pulled them out of a black hole. Australia since then have been defeated, lost by some big margins from time to time, but have never been knocked out so comprehensively as they're being KOed here.

[punjabi_khota]

Back in the 1980s after the retirements of Chappell, Lillee and Marsh, before Border pulled them out of a black hole. Australia since then have been defeated, lost by some big margins from time to time, but have never been knocked out so comprehensively as they're being KOed here.

1998 ..innings defeat I remember...in India...that was classic pwnage too :-D

[kablooee87]

Honestly, I'm at a total loss as to what can be expected next match. On one hand, Australia has shown time and time again their ability to rise to the occasion. But how do you come back from this. Not just the loss or the runs margin, but grand canyon between the performances levels being displayed by the two teams. Then again, India have this nagging habit of easing up in precisely this sort of situation. Although, India has shown signs of finally coming of age as a test power house lately and maybe this is that defining moment. I wonder what Mr. Kumble thinks.

[Mr. Wicket]

1998 ..innings defeat I remember...in India...that was classic pwnage too :-D

I'd have mentioned that, except that Australia recovered very well to win the following test match (that too after a massive Tendulkar assault on the opening two days) from behind, then won the ODI tri-series that followed. Australia got demolished in the first two tests, but still showed some fight when going down. Here, they've gotten steamrolled without anyone really standing up and fighting. There've been a couple of respectable showings (Clarke in this innings, Siddle w/ the ball in the previous dig) but they've just not looked ready for the fight.

[King]

Australia looked completely out of sorts and Zaheer is vindicated. Australia has struggled to take 20 wickets in a test match and they know that. No wonder they opt for defensive tactics these days. What is surprising is that even the likes of Hayden, Ponting and the rest are lacking application. I still expect them to regroup and come hard at the Indians the next two matches. This is the same batting line up that has produced runs before and will do that again. Just that it may be a bit too late. Although not impossible I wonder if they have stomach to fight in the next two test matches. Mind is a strange thing, despite all the ability you may still get beaten even before the game begins. While the Indian lower order and tail is fighting it out the Aussies have struggled. It's good to see that the Indian experience is showing results in this series.

[veer]

in a way this was expected... defeats are expected.. here and in England.. replacing langer, warne, mcgrath, gilly, symmo is not easy.. thats half of your hard run machines and wicket takers.. I dont think its that surprising to see them lose.. ponting never produced in India.. katich is no langer.. hayden is coming back from injury.. Now the surprising factor for me was our bowlers.. zak, ishant, bhajji, mishra.. all of them clicked in one game... and the captaincy...

[hindu-Stan]

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/statsguru/engine/match/63197.html India won by 222 runs.

[The Outsider]

Fight comes from skill as well. The downright stupid batting display at the start of the second innings and it's justification by their coach really shows that Australia are completely out of the loop with their ability and reality. It was either the snail like approach at Bangalore or the rib tickling joke masquerading as a batting effort yesterday. I am not writing them off.......but they appear to be a completely frustrated and clueless unit at the moment. You don't start beating the leather off the ball when chasing 515 in a test. Even if they had somehow reached 250/5 in 40 overs India would not have broken a sweat with a target like that. On the other hand if they had gone to stumps around 140/2 yesterday they would have had a genuine chance to save the test.

[amit467]

This is what Dhoni said to Dravid Naturally Dhoni was pleased with his team's effort. "I've never seen anything like that," he said. "Especially at one time in the first innings, they were 22 from 13 overs. I said to Rahul [Dravid], 'Look at the board, we won't see that again.'"