Underprepared India
India went in to the first Test with virtually no preparation, their one warm-up match against Victoria rained out for the most part
Nishi Narayanan
25-Feb-2013
India went in to the first Test with virtually no preparation, their one warm-up match against Victoria rained out for the most part. Kadambari Murali writes Hindustan Times that the lack of bounce is easier to adjust to than extra bounce. She goes on to dissect the Test:
Teams like Australia feed on their opposition’s frailties and they did just that by thoroughly exploiting India’s lack of athleticism. Every time the ball went to a relatively poor fielder, they would scamper for a single. It not only got a player off the strike and kept the board ticking, it also put extra pressure on the bowler.
Every time the ball went to the deep, they took three, two for the distance the ball had travelled and one for the weak arm. By doing so, and without hitting boundaries, they managed to maintain a healthy run rate despite losing wickets.
S Ram Mahesh praises Australia's wholesome performance in his match report in the Hindu.
Nishi Narayanan is a staff writer at ESPNcricinfo