BGT 2024-25: 3 reasons why India lost the Adelaide test

Australia levelled the BGT 2024-25 with a thumping win in Adelaide.

Even though India won the first BGT 2024-25 test in Perth by a hefty margin of 295 runs, the team clearly had holes waiting to burst open. The victory under Jasprit Bumrah in the first test only papered over the cracks that were laid out in Adelaide, where Australia won the pink-ball test emphatically to level the series 1-1 with three more tests to go.

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, India were bowled out for 180 runs as Mitchell Starc registered his best figures in a test innings (6/48). Then Travis Head hammered a blistering century as Australia ended up with a lead of 157 runs.

India then managed only 175 runs in their second innings with Pat Cummins taking a five-wicket haul.

When they reassess their performance, India will look at these mistakes that they committed during the Adelaide test as the chief reasons for their loss.

BGT 2024-25: 3 reasons why India lost the Adelaide test

Twin batting malfunctions

When 21-year-old Nitish Kumar Reddy, who is playing only his career’s second test match, is the top-scorer in both of your innings, then you have a serious problem in your batting department.

India have been bowled out for 180 and less in three of their four innings so far on this tour and Reddy has been the top-scorer in all three of them.

While Jaiswal, Kohli, and KL Rahul did score runs in India’s second innings in Perth, it must be admitted those were the best batting conditions of the series so far. And the entire unit has failed when things got challenging – day 1 in both tests and the third session under lights on day 2 in Adelaide.

The returning captain Rohit Sharma, who has, according to his fans, “selflessly” given up his opening role and slid down the middle-order, managed scores of 3 and 6 in Adelaide and looked utterly clueless against the Aussie pacers.

Terrible captaincy

Rohit looked even more clueless as a captain when Travis Head was hammering one his fastest test centuries. This is the third time since 2023 that Head smashed a century in international cricket when Rohit was leading the Indian team.

Yet, Rohit clearly didn’t learn how to stop Head. The criticism that was laid down for Rohit and the bowlers in the ICC WTC 2021-23 final and the World Cup 2023 final was the lack of usage of short balls and bouncers to Head.

It was the same thing in Adelaide as well, as the Indian bowlers didn’t bowl barrage of bouncers consistently, and instead fed him deliveries outside off-stump to cut, drive, and loft, and on the pads to flick with ease.

Bumrah bowled only four overs in first session of day 2

The most baffling of strategic decisions from captain Rohit Sharma was that Bumrah bowled only four overs in the first session of day 2.

In his first spell on day 2, Bumrah dismissed Nathan McSweeney and Steve Smith. And then he was not only surprisingly removed from the attack, but shockingly didn’t bowl at all in the rest of the first session.

Head then feasted merrily on Siraj, Rana, and Ashwin and raced to 53(67) by the end of the session. He was set by then and went even harder in the second session.

It still remains puzzling why Bumrah bowled only four overs in that morning session, while he had bowled spells of 7-8 overs in Perth. With Head new to the crease, India should have attacked the left-hander with their main weapon.

Captain Rohit Sharma will have plenty of questions to answer after the match.

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