Australia has thumped India in the first two games of their summer and have looked class apart in the One-Day international series, till now. Former Australia head coach, John Buchanan in an interview with WION talked about Australia's tremendous start to the series against India, by taking an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the three-match ODI series.
Buchanan laid stress on how suddenly India's bowling attack looks weak with their spearheads - Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah not firing at the same time.
“It is a great start by the Australian team. The batsmen knew their plans and executed them well without overthinking. Some of the shots the Australian batsmen have played show how clear they are about their plans and to this against a good Indian bowling attack is a great achievement. On the other hand, the Indian bowling attack is suddenly looking weak. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are great bowlers but they haven’t fired well together. Same with the spinners,”
In the two games till now, Australia have amassed scored of 374 and 389, with Steve Smith getting two centuries and five of their batsmen making 50-plus scores in the second game.
India, on the other hand, haven't been able to apply breaks on the Aussie juggernaut as all their bowlers have proved expensive and have looked out of sorts in these two games.
Elaborating on the possible reasons for Indian bowlers not clicking, Buchanan, who has coached Australian side from 1999-2007 said, "The Indian bowling attack is looking a bit rusty. It could be the IPL effect but in a major series like this, you have to be at your prime mentally and physically. But sometimes we are hard on these players.
"The bio-secure bubbles, so many restrictions due to coronavirus; these things take a toll on you slowly. We don’t see it from our television sets but it gradually affects the performance of players. Having said that, the Indian attack is looking a bit jaded."
India need to bounce back strongly in the remaining four games of the limited-overs leg of the series as their struggles could increase multifolds in the much-awaited four-match test series.
With Ishant Sharma being ruled out and Virat Kohli, not there for three games of the series, India will have to play out of their skins to beat this Australian side in their own backyard.
Speaking on how big a miss would Virat Kohli be in the test series, Buchanan said, "Virat Kohli’s absence is a great deal and I think it can be the difference in the Test series. Not only his absence on the field but off it as well.
"He is the one who passes on the confidence and pump. For Rohit Sharma, if he is there then it will be a big boost for India. Since the last few years, Kohli and Rohit have determined how India play on the field and if they both are absent then it is a major headache for India," Buchanan added.