14 Sunday, December 20, 2020 Sports OVAL AND OUT AT Indian press, ex-players rue ‘massacre’

AFP came back really hard this New Delhi morning,” he tweeted. “That is the beauty of The Indian press and former Test . It’s NEVER over players savaged the national till it’s over. India was out- cricket team on Saturday af- classed in the 2nd half. Con- ter they slumped to their low- gratulations to !” est-ever score in a “humiliat- Former India pacer Irfan ing” and “jaw-dropping” Test Pathan said though he was defeat in Australia. “very disappointed”, adding: India were bundled out “We all expect the Indian for 36 in the second innings team to play better cricket.” of the first Test in Adelaide Kris Srikkanth, a former as Australian pacemen Josh India opener, and Hazlewood and selector, was similarly unfor- put the visitors to the sword. giving. In cricket-crazy India, “All the hard work done The Times of India dubbed by india in the 1st innings the performance and the de- lost by pretty pathetic bat- feat – the hosts cruised to an ting in a span of 20 overs! eight- victory on just Congrats @CricketAus,” the third day – the “massacre Srikkanth tweeted. in Adelaide”. “Time for our boys to dig “India did almost eve- deep and put a decent total on Australia’s bowls to the Indian batsman as India is dismissed for only 36 runs on the third day of their first Test at the in Australia on Saturday.(AFP) rything right on Day 2,” the the board for our bowlers!” paper said. “Day 3 however Parthiv Patel, another saw the Aussie fast bowlers former player, called it “In- especially Josh Hazlewood dia’s most shameful perfor- and Pat Cummins come out mance”. with a vengeance.” “Players like , India slump to lowest ever score The Indian per- Hanuma Vihari, Ajinkya Ra- formance -- no player even hane, have all played on the reached double figures -- was biggest of stages, “ Patel told a “jaw-dropping act of meek Cricbuzz. surrender,” the paper said, “Even if you are facing as Australia clinch first Test calling Hazlewood with his Hazlewood, Starc, Cummins, stellar figures of five for eight someone could have put AFP including a six to win the match. massive wicket of Kohli. the “wrecker-in-chief”. their heads down and at least Adelaide made 33 The superstar batsman The Indian Express won- stitched one .” and six had smacked Cummins for dered if the “summer of 36” A devastated India crashed to with one. four but was gone the next ball was “Indian cricket’s lowest Some sympathy their lowest ever score of 36 Cummins wasted no time after a review, caught by debu- point”, adding tongue-in- Indian batting great Sunil on Saturday as Australia ran removing nightwatchman tant Cameron Green as he at- cheek that the players had Gavaskar defended Kohli’s riot to win the opening Test for two in the tempted a cover drive. at least “buried the ghost” of men, saying that any batting in Adelaide by eight second over of the day, tempt- At 19 for six, India were 1974, when the previous re- side would have struggled after Josh Hazlewood and Pat ing him to push at a slower ball in real danger of making their cord low of 42 was set. against Australia’s “simply Cummins produced a that popped back up to him. lowest ever score and when Forty-six years ago when superb” bowling attack. masterclass. That brought the stub- (4) chipped India were thrashed by Eng- “I mean, any team that India started the third day born to a Hazlewood to Mar- land at Lord’s, that innings is all-out for its lowest Test of the pink-ball Test on nine the crease. He saw off an over nus Labuschagne and Ravi at least saw one player – score since the time it started for one and with a 62-run lead, from Cummins, but that was Ashwin was out next ball it be- Eknath Solkar making 18 not playing cricket, that’s never looking to build a competitive as good as it got for the veteran came a reality. out – reach double figures, good to see,” Indian media second innings total for the who fell without scoring. A four from Hanuma Vi- the paper recalled. quoted Gavaskar as telling hosts to chase. WRECKERS-IN-CHIEF: Australia’s Josh Hazlewood (left) is applauded by Cummins, the world’s hari spared them some shame, The Republic TV channel Channel 7. But their hopes were left in fellow paceman Pat Cummins for his five-wicket haul (5-8) against India number one Test bowler, sent taking India past New Zea- on its website called the bat- “But having said that, if tatters by a wicket with bounce at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday. Cummins took 4-21. (AFP) down a delivery that had to be land’s all-time low. ting performance “humiliat- any other team had been fac- and deviation as Hazlewood played and Pujara caught an But Vihari (8) didn’t last ing”, with the middle order ing that kind of bowling, they took 5-8, including his 200th more Tests, starting in Mel- India’s previous Test low edge that carried to wicket- much longer, caught by Paine of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat would have also got out.” Test wicket, and Cummins bourne on Boxing Day, with- was 42 against England at keeper Paine. with Hazlewood again doing Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane Australian spin legend 4-21. Wicketkeeper out him. Ajinkya Rahane will Lord’s in 1974. Their 36 was It left India on 15 for three, the damage to complete an ex- “badly exposed”. hailed the claimed five catches as the assume the captaincy. the joint fourth lowest of all and it only got worse with open- cellent five-wicket haul, before Virat Kohli said he was “outstanding” bowling but bowlers found the edge. “It’s very hard to put those time, with New Zealand’s er Mayank Agarwal back in the was forced confident that the team would also expressed some sympa- “I didn’t expect it to come feelings into words,” said a dis- 26 facing England in 1955 at pavillon five balls later for nine, to retire hurt after a Cummins bounce back, but the talis- thy for the visitors. that quick, I was expecting a consolate Kohli. “We had a lead Auckland the worst ever. again caught by Paine on Ha- thunderbolt hit his right arm. manic Indian skipper is now “Have to feel for the Indi- real dogfight,” said skipper of 60-odd when we arrived, and The carnage left Australia, zlewood’s opening delivery. “Everything went to plan,” returning home to be with his an batsman as never saw that Paine. “To hang in, give our then just collapsed. We played who scored 191 in the first in- Hazlewood and Paine said Hazlewood. “Patty (Cum- Bollywood star wife for the coming - it was one of those bowlers a chance, and then two days of good cricket to get nings, needing 90 to win, with again combined to get rid mins) set the tone and I just birth of their first child. days where the batsman turn up and start the day the in a position and then just lose out-of-form Joe Burns hitting a of Rahane for nought, after followed suit. To join the With Kohli absent, and nicked everything & didn’t way we did, full credit to our it in an hour. It really hurts.” confidence-building 51 not out, which Cummins picked up the 200th club is pretty special.” a “question mark” over the play and miss at all ! Unbe- bowling attack again. fitness of key batsman Rohit lievable,” Warne tweeted. “It’s nice to get off to a Sharma, “Team India have a Former India pacer R P good start. Chuffed with the Scoreboard lot to think about,” the Times Singh expressed optimism way we bowled in this Test.” India first innings 244 (V. Kohli 74, C. Pujara 43, A. Rahane 42; W. Saha c Labuschagne b Hazlewood 4 M. Wade 33 of India said. about the rest of the four- It was an incredible Indi- M. Starc 4-53, P. Cummins 3-48) R. Ashwin c Paine b Hazlewood 0 M. Labuschagne c Agarwal b Ashwin 6 match series: “We have an collapse, with no batsman Australia 1st innings 191 (T. Paine 73 no, M. Labuschagne 47; U. Yadav not out 4 S. Smith not out 1 Gracious Tendulkar bounced back in past and reaching double figures during R. Ashwin 4-55, U. Yadav 3-40) M. Shami ret hurt 1 Extras: (lb1, nb1) 2 Former India great this team can do that too.” a capitulation that lasted less India 2nd innings (overnight 9-1) Extras: 0 Total: (For 2 wickets, overs 21) 93 was gra- But former England cap- P. Shaw b Cummins 4 Total: (For nine wickets, 21.1 overs) 36 Did not bat: , Cameron Green, Tim Paine (capt), Pat than 22 overs, in contrast to M. Agarwal c Paine b Hazlewood 9 Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Shaw), 2-15 (Bumrah), 3-15 (Pujara), 4-15 Cummins, , , Josh Hazlewood. cious about the defeat, con- tain Michael Vaughan was their battling first innings’ 244. J. Bumrah c & b Cummins 2 (Agarwal), 5-15 (Rahane), 6-19 (Kohli), 7-26 (Saha), 8-26 Fall of wickets: 1-70 (Wade), 2-82 (Labuschagne). gratulating the Australians. having none of it. That included skipper Vi- C. Pujara c Paine b Cummins 0 (Ashwin), 9-31 (Vihari), 9-36 (Shami - retired hurt). Bowling: Bumrah 7-1-27-0, Yadev 8-1-49-0, Ashwin 6-1-16-1. “With the way India “Told ya ... India are go- rat Kohli, who fell for four V. Kohli c Green b Cummins 4 Bowling: Starc 6-3-7-0, Cummins 10.2-4-21-4, Hazlewood 5-3-8-5 Result: Australia won by eight wickets batted & bowled in the 1st ing to get hammered in the and now heads home for the A. Rahane c Paine b Hazlewood 0 Australia 2nd innings Toss: India. innings, they were in the Test Series ... #AUSvIND #4- birth of his first child, leaving H. Vihari c Paine b Hazlewood 8 J. Burns not out 51 Australia lead 4-Test series 1-0. driver’s seat, but the Aussies 0,” he tweeted. his stunned team to face three 7-star Liverpool run riot Kohli confident India will bounce back AFP as Arsenal slump Adelaide India captain Virat Kohli AFP ham in midweek. insisted on Saturday he was London Roberto Firmino and Mo- “very, very confident” his team hamed Salah scored twice would bounce back from their Liverpool sent a chill- while Takumi Minamino, Sa- worst-ever batting display, ing warning to the rest of the dio Mane and Jordan Hender- blaming a poor mindset for Premier League on Saturday, son also found the net. the side throwing away the smashing seven goals past Klopp has repeatedly be- first Test against Australia. Crystal Palace as Arsenal’s cri- moaned the fixture schedul- Compounding their prob- Although the scorecard sis deepened following defeat Liverpool’s Egyptian midfielder ing that requires teams to play lems, Kohli will now head India captain Virat Kohli congratulates Australia skipper Tim Paine at made for dismal reading, Koh- at Everton. Mohamed Salah (right) celebrates Saturday lunchtime kick-offs home for the birth of his first the end of their first Test at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday.(AFP) li said he had never been one Jurgen Klopp’s champi- scoring his team’s sixth goal after Wednesday evening child, missing the final three to dwell too long on the past. ons – despite being dogged against Crystal Palace at Selhurst games, but his side suffered no Tests, while fast bowler Mo- “I am confident that the falling so quickly that “no one “Playing at the highest by injuries this season – are Park in London on Saturday. (AFP) hangover from their exertions hammed Shami has been sent team is going to bounce back could make any sense of it”. level, there will definitely be five points clear of neighbours against Spurs. for scans for a right arm injury. strong in and a “To be honest there were collapses again and again and Everton after humiliating Pal- son pacesetters Everton beat Despite this, Kohli said few of the guys are going to some good balls but the ball we have to accept our mistakes ace 7-0 at Selhurst Park. them 2-1 at Goodison Park to Results: Crystal Palace 0 Liver- they could fix their problems realise their true characters didn’t do anything drastic. I and understand what we have It is the first time the Reds climb to second in the table, pool 7 (Minamino 3, Mane 35, before the second Test in Mel- and how they can step up think it was the mindset, it was to work on,” he said. “We don’t have won an away match in while Manchester City edged Firmino 44, 68, Henderson 52, bourne next week. for the team. I don’t think we very evident,” he said. “It felt feel we are vulnerable to getting the English top flight by a past Southampton 1-0. Salah 81, 84) “I definitely would have have ever had a worse batting like the runs were so difficult bowled out so cheaply ... I don’t margin of seven goals in their Klopp’s men built on the Southampton 0 Manchester loved it if we had won this performance so we can only go to come by and the bowlers got think it is anything alarming.” illustrious history. momentum gained from their City 1 (Sterling 16) game, with me leaving, but this upwards from here.” confident. I think it was a com- The second Test in Mel- Arsenal, by contrast, are in last-gasp win in the top-of- Everton 2 (Holding 22-og, Mina is and anything can Kohli admitted India lost bination of lack of intent and bourne if from Dec 26, fol- deep trouble after early-sea- the-table clash with Totten- 45) Arsenal 1 (Pepe 35-pen). happen at any stage,” he said. their way, with the wickets the bowlers hitting their areas.” lowed by and .