The trio’s contribution played a pivotal role in India’s triumphs in the first two Border-Gavaskar Trophy events. On the other hand, Australia’s lower order has not enjoyed the same success as its Indian counterparts.
Australia’s No. 8 through No. 11 have added only about five runs per set so far in the series.
Australian assistant coach Daniel Vettori now wants the team’s lower-tier hitters to fight back and show courage by scoring valuable runs in the fourth and final Test which kicks off on March 9 in Ahmedabad.
Captain pat cummins33 in the second Test at Ferozeshah Kotla and Nathan Lyon’s 10 first-inning points in the same game are the only double-digit scores the Australian tail has been able to achieve.
With Cummins returning home to be with his ailing mother, Australia’s lower order wears an even more fragile look.
Vettori said team management and support staff should inspire more confidence among lower-order hitters ahead of the fourth Test here.
“I think Pat (Cummins) did it (hitting) exceptionally well in the first innings in Delhi, and I think the bottom four have figured out how to do it and how they want to do it. It’s just having the courage in fact, take it out there.
“I think we all understand that defending isn’t necessarily a way to get through this because of the rotation of the ball and the quality of the bowlers, and finding your scoring areas,” said the former New Zealand captain. com.au.
The lower-order hitter has been a major concern for Australia during the series with Nathan Lyon, Matt Kuhnemann, Todd MurphyMitchell Starc and Scott Boland unable to negotiate the turn on Indian grounds, resulting in two massive defeats for the visitors.
Australia won the third Test in Indore to secure the final World Test Championship spot thanks to spinner Nathan Lyon’s 11 wickets in the game.
Umesh Yadav also punched confidently in the third Test in Indore, playing a 17 cameo studded with a limit and two maximums.
“Even if you see a round like Umesh Yadav, I know it’s probably because of that license (to go for the big hits), but it can make such a difference in the scheme of things.
“We have to push our bottom four to have the confidence to really take on the game,” added Vettori.
The 113 Test veteran added that the terrain in India during the current series is much more demanding than the flatter tracks he had played many times during New Zealand’s tour of India.
“They were always just a war of attrition, the wickets I played on. It was India who won the toss and got 600, you could get 400 and hang in there for life for the past two days.”
“That’s normally how it went – it was a real chore, it was day five, the result was still in play, then normally a draw or a win against India.”
The New Zealander added that he was extremely happy with the performance of spinners Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann, and how they handled the pressure.
“They don’t wilt under pressure, they just understand their process and they repeat and repeat and repeat. That’s the real skill here…you can get carried away with what’s going on,” Vettori said.
“I think (Matt) Kuhney in particular came in so early in his career and Todd as well, and being able to be consistent against some of the best players against the spin that you’ll come across under those conditions and with those expectations has probably been the most impressive thing so far,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
