IND vs AUS 2023: India’s lower-order batters will make difference in Test series, says coach Andrew McDonald

Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald believes India’s lower-order batters could make a difference in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar series. India’s lower order already made a significant difference in the first innings of the opening Test match as they helped India post 400 runs on the board and take a 223-run lead.

Ravindra Jadeja scored 70 runs whereas Axar Patel added 84 runs while batting down the order. The left-handed duo added 88 runs for the eighth-wicket alliance. Furthermore, Mohammed Shami scored 37 runs to add salt to the injury for the Australian bowlers.

On the other hand, Australia’s lower order failed to contribute with the bat and it was a major difference between the two teams in the first Test.

“Their (India’s) lower-order batting is also going to be a differentiator in this series in (Ravindra) Jadeja, (Axar) Patel and (Ravichandran) Ashwin, they’ve got a really strong lower-order and we’re going to be challenged by that,” McDonald told SEN Radio on Monday.

“They’re no doubt going to have more runs available to their lower order than ours, so we’ve got to try to work out how to break even in that sense.

McDonald called for a calm atmosphere in the dressing room as three more Test matches are yet to be played and he doesn’t want the players to hit the panic buttons.

“I think if you start to shift and change dramatically and too quickly you start to get lost. Clearly, we’re disappointed with our first-up performance, we are realistic though, it’s a four-Test series so there’s a long way to go,” McDonald said.

“The planning and preparation that went into it, we still feel that can work and we’ve got some quality players in the change room that can get us back on the right side.

The head coach admitted that the home team put them under pressure and they were not able to take the toss advantage.
“India put us under extreme pressure, we didn’t maximise our first innings and when you get behind in the subcontinent it’s a long way back and things can happen fast and that’s what we saw play out.

“(The third day’s) play is probably a reflection of not maximising that first inning after winning the toss,” he added.

The second Test match will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi from Friday onwards.