While Australia is on the verge of their first ever home Test series defeat against India, the Australian cricketer Peter Handscomb believes that Australia will save the ongoing Sydney Test on day five.
Coming to this fourth and final Test match of the series by trailing 2-1, Australia only scored 300 runs in their first innings against India’s mammoth first innings total of 622/7 decl. on the rain-interrupted day four of this Test match, the visiting side has decided to enforce the follow-on as Australia was batting on 6/0 before the bad light ended the day very early.
However, Handscomb is confident that they can manage to secure a draw at the end of the day five of the Test match.
He said at the end of day four, “We will be coming out tomorrow and drawing this game, and then we will assess where we need to improve and get together as a team. We know that as a batting group we can take some confidence out of tomorrow if we can last the day, showing the country and the world that we are not far off from clicking as a really good team.”
Indian left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav claimed his second five-wicket haul in his Test career on the day four after finishing with the bowling figure of 31.5-6-99-5 at the end of Australia’s first innings.
Talking about Kuldeep, Handscomb said, “Kuldeep has obviously been very impressive as well. He was very accurate and hard to get on top of. With the pace that he bowled, it was hard to get down to the wicket and force through the field. He was accurate and used the footmarks well, giving it a good spin.”
Also read: Bharat Arun Praises Kuldeep Yadav For His Five-Wicket Haul In Sydney Test
Handscomb also praised the in-form Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah who is currently the joint highest wicket-taker in this Test series and also bowled Handscomb (37 runs) in the first innings of the ongoing Test match. He claimed Kuldeep and Bumrah both are the world-class bowlers at present.
He added, “Obviously both are world class bowlers in their own right. Bumrah coming in can crank it up to 150 km/h and is always pretty tough with his accuracy. He has not missed his mark too much and has been able to swing it both ways, which is quite impressive with that action, and also adds to the fact how hard he is to pick.”
Since 1988, it is the first time when Australia have been enforced the follow-on in a home Test match. Moreover, since 2005, it is the first time when Australia have been enforced the follow-on in a Test match.
Though the present situation is hurting them, Handscomb is focusing to improve their performances as soon as possible.
He said, “Obviously it hurts, you never want to follow on in any Test match for obvious reasons. It is huge for us to push for the draw and we have got a really good chance to shift some momentum back into our camp. Not just for the ODIs coming up but also there’s a World Cup and the Ashes. So this movement can really start tomorrow.
“It will be really nice if someone scores a hundred because we have not scored one this series which is obviously a big thing. Someone can come out tomorrow and score a hundred that would be great, or face 200 or 300 balls in a Test-saving knock. It will also give a lot of confidence going forward.”
