In what can only be called a disappointing performance, India suffered a crushing defeat in the Adelaide Test, with Australia wrapping up the win in no time.
After India’s embarrassing first innings score of just 180 runs, Australia easily posted 337 runs in reply, leaving India 157 runs behind.
As the second day ended, India was struggling at 128 for 5, still far from recovery.
Sadly, things only got worse on Day 3. India managed to add just 47 more runs before losing their last five wickets.
In the blink of an eye, Australia needed just 19 runs to win. And, in a mere 14 minutes, they knocked off those 19 runs without losing a single wicket, securing 10 wickets win in just 20 balls.
With that, Australia leveled the series at 1-1, and if this performance is anything to go by, it’s clear that Australia has the upper hand in pink-ball Tests, winning 12 out of 13 so far.
Meanwhile, India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, now faces the sad record of four straight Test losses under his leadership.
On Day 3, India began trailing by 29 runs. However, they didn’t last long. Rishabh Pant, who was on 28 runs the day before, was dismissed for a duck in the very first over of the day.
He was caught by Steven Smith off Mitchell Starc’s delivery, marking a tough start for India.
Next, Ravichandran Ashwin and Nitish Kumar Reddy tried to steady the ship, but after a small partnership of 20 runs, disaster struck.
Ashwin fell for just 7 runs, caught behind by Pat Cummins. Soon after, Harshit Rana was dismissed for a duck, leaving India struggling at 153 for 8.
Even though Reddy was still there, his brief hope of pulling off a miracle was dashed when he too fell to Cummins for 42 runs.
This brought India’s total to just 175 runs, leaving Australia needing only 19 runs to win. And in no time, they achieved that target without losing a wicket.
It was a quick and easy win for Australia, as they wrapped up the game in the blink of an eye. With this dominant victory, they not only leveled the series but also showed the world how quickly they can dominate a game.
Meanwhile, India will have to rethink their strategies for the upcoming matches.