IND vs AUS: Where Did India Falter Against Australia In Indore? Sanjay Manjrekar Reveals

New Delhi: Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar reckons that the Indians were a little bit complacent in the third Test match against Australia in Indore and they paid the price for it as the Aussies came back strongly and won the Test by nine wickets. Having won the first two Test matches in the four-match Test series, the Rohit Sharma-led side found themselves at the receiving end as Australia spinners Nathan Lyon and Matthew Kuhnemann went through the famed Indian batting line-up.

Talking about India’s loss, Manjrekar said that the Indians were carrying the hangover of the dominance that they had in the series so far, having won the toss and deciding to bat first.

“I got the impression that India was carrying the hangover of the dominance that they had in the series so far. They won the toss and batted first for the first time,” said 57-year-old on Star Sports.

While trying to analyse India’s shocking loss in the third Test, Manjrekar further added that the Indians failed to assess the conditions and tried to go after the bowling a bit too early that brought about their downfall.

“So immediately the onus was on them to call the shots in the game and I thought they were just trying to dominate a bit too early and didn’t suss the pitch out. So too many attacking shots under the assumption that they knew the pitch and that is where I guess where India faltered”, he added.

The Australians were under the pump ahead of the third Test match, even more so when their regular captain Pat Cummins was ruled out of the game due to personal reasons. Steve Smith took over the captaincy and was more than impressive in the match.

Kuhnemann’s fifer helped Australia bundle out India for 109 in the first innings and from there on, the hosts were always playing the catching up the game. Lyon took over in the second innings and his eight-wicket haul meant that the Aussies only had to chase 75 in the third morning of the Test.

Cheteshwar Pujara was the lone warrior for India in the second innings as he made a brilliant half-century but failed to bail the hosts out of troubled waters.