India’s record defeat of Australia in the second cricket Test signaled the end of the world champion’s dominance and exposed shortcomings caused by player retirements, Australian media reported.
Under today’s front-page headline “OUTbatted, OUTbowled, OUTcaptained,” Sydney Morning Herald cricket columnist Peter Roebuck said the 320-run loss in Mohali had “humbled” the top-ranked Australians.
“Australia have lost before, but it’s been a long time since they were so comprehensively taken apart,” Roebuck wrote. “Everyone knew they could be beaten but not broken. No one expected them to be brushed away like dust off a table.”
The defeat was Australia’s biggest in a Test since 1999, when Steve Waugh’s team lost to the West Indies by 10 wickets in Jamaica. It was also India’s biggest victory by runs in history.
An Indian win in either of the remaining two matches in Delhi or Nagpur — or draws in both — would end Australia’s run of eight straight series victories.
Unbeaten in 10 previous away Tests, Australia capitulated to 195 all out chasing a world record target of 516. Ricky Ponting suffered only his fifth loss in 46 Tests as captain since replacing Waugh in 2004.
The Australian newspaper led yesterday’s sport section with the headline “Era of domination at an end.”
While Ponting’s team had done well to cover the retirements of all-time leading wicket-takers Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath and record-breaking wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, the broadsheet said India had left it “brutally exposed.”
“It is not possible to replace great cricketers with good cricketers and retain the same standard,” Roebuck said.
The Daily Telegraph has started an online petition aimed at convincing the 39-year-old Warne to come out of retirement.
“There’s no polite way to spin this,” the newspaper wrote. “Australian cricket needs a helping hand. It’s time to send out an SOS to SKW.”
India’s 72-run success in Perth nine months ago was the only other Test the Australians lost during their current series streak, which began after the 2005 Ashes loss in England. Since losing to Australia in Sydney in January, No. 3-ranked India has won two and drawn twice against Ponting’s team.
“India has turned world cricket upside down by bullying Australia into submission,” the Australian said.
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