IND VS AUS: 5 reasons why Australia batters failed against Ravindra Jadeja in 2nd Test match

Ravindra Jadeja (Image credits: Twitter)

India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after an impressive win against Australia in the second Test In Delhi. The home team won the game by six wickets inside three days. Australia was aware of a spin-friendly pitch and was practicing hard in the nets to tackle Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin.

However, the Kangaroos were fully clueless against the Indian spin wizards. The duo took a total of 31 wickets from four innings of the two Tests. Jadeja was out of action in international cricket for a while but has returned to India's longer format with a bang. The No.1 Test all-rounder crushed the Aussie batters with 10 wickets in the second Test, which included his career-best haul of 7/42 in the second innings.

Here are the 5 reasons why Australian batters failed against Ravindra Jadeja in the Delhi Test

1. Spin friendly pitch

Ind vs Aus (Image credits: Twitter)

Both matches in this BGT series ended in the first three days as the spinners completely ruled the pitch. Not only the Indian spinners, but Australia's Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy, and Matthew Paul Kuhnemann also had a brilliant outing.

The only difference between the two teams was how they tackled the spin bowling. Even though the top and middle order of both teams failed against spin, the Indian lower-order brilliance against the spin has been the difference so far.

2. Poor shot selection

Usman Khawaja (Image credits: Twitter)

Poor shot selection by the Aussies batters was one of the reasons for their failure against Ravindra Jadeja. In the second game, the visitors were relying heavily on sweep shots to score runs. This even led Australian legend Ian Chappell to comment, "Australia panicked and did something not natural". Sweeping is not good against someone like Jadeja who can bowl flat, quick, and accurate.

Usman Khawaja tries to score more runs with sweep shots, but we saw him get out by Jadeja while playing such shots. The Pat Cummins-led side will have to try something different in the remaining two games, at least after the man himself warns: "Don't think a sweep is a good option against me on this kind of wicket," Jadeja said in the post-match presentation of the 2nd Test.

3.The inexperience of Australian batters

Ind vs Aus (Image credits: Twitter)

Many of the Australian batters were not familiar with Indian conditions as they had not played many matches in India. Apart from their skipper Pat Cummins, star batter Steve Smith, David Warner, and spin wizard Nathan Lyon, none were exposed to Indian spin-friendly pitches.

Their wicket-keeper batter Alex Carey, and Travis Head, who replaced David Warner in the second innings of the second Test, did not feature much in the longer format. In addition, the visitors came to India with two debutants, Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann. The experienced Australian batters not adapting quickly from their bouncy Aussie pitches to India's spin pitches, contributing to their failure.

4. Jadeja using the rough better than anyone

Ravindra Jadeja (Image credits: Twitter)

"I don't think anyone uses the rough better than him (Jadeja)." This was said by former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan ahead of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Jadeja proved Pathan's words true by taking seven wickets on Day 3 of the second Test in Delhi.

On the first two days, Jadeja would bowl on the stumps, and on the third or fourth day, as soon as the pitch got rough, he would make the most of the advantages and beat the batters in front of him.

5. Australia was too focused on the pitches

Steve Smith (Image credits: Twiter)

Before the start of the series, the Aussies were focused on Indian pitches and Indian spin attacks which clearly showed what their mindset was. The visitors were so worried about the pitches and the Indian spin attack.

“I think before this series as well, the Australians showed what mindset they were in. They were so worried about the pitches and Ashwin. Before the game started in Nagpur, they had lost it," Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh said.