One of the highlights of Day 2 of the third Test between India and Australia was the ‘bail-switching’ moment between India pacer Mohammed Siraj and Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne. In an act of superstition, Siraj walked over to Labuschagne’s stumps and switched the position of the bails. As Siraj turned back, Labuschagne himself switched the bails back to the original position. It didn’t work out for him, as he got dismissed moments later off the bowling of Nitish Reddy. Legendary Australia batter Matthew Hayden slammed Labuschagne for getting distracted.

Labuschagne fell for just 12 runs off 55 balls, shortly after the bail-switching incident. A thick edge saw him caught at slip by Virat Kohli.

“He saw 55 deliveries, and had no go forward whatsoever. Even that little exchange, if it was me at the crease and a bowler does that. I am not caring less. I’m not even looking at the bowler. I’m not acknowledging what he’s doing one bit. He’s nowhere near my space. In fact, I probably would have told him to get out of my space before he even got to the bails,” said Hayden on Star Sports at the end of Day 2’s play.

Labuschagne’s dismissal left Australia at 75/3 in tricky conditions, but arguably was a blessing in disguise. He was replaced at the crease by Travis Head, whose counter-attacking innings put Australia in a dominant position by the end of Day 2.

Head put up a partnership of 241 runs with Steve Smith, and scored yet another ton against India. Head has now scored over 1,200 runs in international cricket against India since 2023.

It was Head’s second consecutive century against India, having played a scintillating 140 at Adelaide as well.

Steve Smith also found his form again, scoring a resilient century, before Jasprit Bumrah completed a five-wicket haul with the second new ball.

India captain Rohit Sharma‘s decision to bowl after winning the toss in the third Test against Australia at The Gabba in Brisbane. Rohit’s decision was centred around the overcast conditions prevailing at Brisbane, an area that has seen an unforeseen amount of rainfall in recent days. Rohit’s decision was slammed, in particular, by former England captain Michael Vaughan and former Australia batter Matthew Hayden. Vaughan went as far as to saying that opposition captain Pat Cummins would’ve been delighted with the outcome despite losing the toss.

“I think Pat Cummins was absolutely delighted to have lost it (the toss),” Vaughan told Fox Cricket.

“He didn’t have to make the call. Probably would have swayed on batting due to the history of this venue, but I think he was quite happy Rohit Sharma said we will have a bowl first,” Vaughan added.

Rohit Sharma explained at the toss that India were looking to get the upper hand by bowling first given the overcast conditions at play. However, India could not strike in the opening 13 overs of Day 1, before rain eventually stopped play.

Former Australia batter Matthew Hayden explained that batting would’ve been the smarter choice, as the pitch has been “over-prepared” due to the fear and intensity of recent rainfall in the area.

“I felt like it was over-prepared. There were almost 12 inches of rain in the past two weeks. And so we’ve got this showery pattern and it’s been that way for a month and a bit. The groundsman would have been thinking, ‘we’ve got to get our preparation in early’, and that’s why I thought that it was going to be good batting conditions in the first two days, with the view that it will break up, and turn,” Hayden added.

When rain had washed out the entire first day of the first Test between India and New Zealand at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in October, many had criticised Rohit’s decision to bat amid overcast conditions. Therefore, that Test may also have influenced his decision to bowl at The Gabba.

With rain affecting play on Day 1, Rohit’s decision at the toss could yet prove to be a masterstroke.

India captain Rohit Sharma‘s decision to bowl after winning the toss in the third Test against Australia at The Gabba in Brisbane. Rohit’s decision was centred around the overcast conditions prevailing at Brisbane, an area that has seen an unforeseen amount of rainfall in recent days. Rohit’s decision was slammed, in particular, by former England captain Michael Vaughan and former Australia batter Matthew Hayden. Vaughan went as far as to saying that opposition captain Pat Cummins would’ve been delighted with the outcome despite losing the toss.

“I think Pat Cummins was absolutely delighted to have lost it (the toss),” Vaughan told Fox Cricket.

“He didn’t have to make the call. Probably would have swayed on batting due to the history of this venue, but I think he was quite happy Rohit Sharma said we will have a bowl first,” Vaughan added.

Rohit Sharma explained at the toss that India were looking to get the upper hand by bowling first given the overcast conditions at play. However, India could not strike in the opening 13 overs of Day 1, before rain eventually stopped play.

Former Australia batter Matthew Hayden explained that batting would’ve been the smarter choice, as the pitch has been “over-prepared” due to the fear and intensity of recent rainfall in the area.

“I felt like it was over-prepared. There were almost 12 inches of rain in the past two weeks. And so we’ve got this showery pattern and it’s been that way for a month and a bit. The groundsman would have been thinking, ‘we’ve got to get our preparation in early’, and that’s why I thought that it was going to be good batting conditions in the first two days, with the view that it will break up, and turn,” Hayden added.

When rain had washed out the entire first day of the first Test between India and New Zealand at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in October, many had criticised Rohit’s decision to bat amid overcast conditions. Therefore, that Test may also have influenced his decision to bowl at The Gabba.

With rain affecting play on Day 1, Rohit’s decision at the toss could yet prove to be a masterstroke.

Legendary Australian cricket team batter Matthew Hayden made a hilarious gaffe on live air when he said that he wants Rahul Dravid instead of KL Rahul while talking about India’s team selection for the third Test match. Hayden was analysing India’s loss in the pink-ball Test and his fumble left Gavaskar in splits. The comment came after Gavaskar said that Rohit should not bat at No. 6 and return to opening the batting for India as he is already suffering from a lot of confidence due to his lack of form.

“I think he should come back to opening for the next Test because he likes the ball to come onto the bat. This innings, one can understand, because he hadn’t played for a while, and Rahul and Jaiswal had a 200-run partnership in the previous game. But Rahul can come down the order and face the second new ball. I’m being optimistic that India will bat so well in the next game that Rahul will take care of the second new ball,” he said.

Gavaskar wants Rohit to open, Hayden wants… Dravid back in the XI?? #AUSvIND | @StarSportsIndia pic.twitter.com/9nkbUFFv8X

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 10, 2024

Hayden was not on the same page as Gavaskar and we went to say that India should not make a hasty change to the playing XI. He also backed the “technically-sound” Rahul to continue as opener but ended up saying “Rahul Dravid” in place of “KL Rahul”.

 “I’ll be slightly more stubborn. I will not be changing at this stage. I know you would like a better outcome inside the top three. But from what I saw in Perth, technically, Rahul Dravid is right there. He just needs to do it for a longer,” Hayden explained.

As soon as Hayden finished his analysis, Gavaskar taunted the Australia legend as he said –  “I would love it if it was Rahul Dravid, as you said, but it is KL Rahul.”

Hayden was left in splits as he said that Dravid’s centuries at the Adelaide Oval “still haunts him”.

“Sorry, KL Rahul. My apologies. I was thinking of when he dominated here in Adelaide and got us smashed in 2003/04 series. That’s a nightmare I’m stull living,” he said.

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh and veteran Australia batter Matthew Hayden pointed out that the Rohit Sharma-led side’s lack of building ‘big partnerships’ has resulted in their 10-wicket defeat in the second Test at Adelaide Oval. Indian batters faltered against Mitchell Starc and captain Pat Cummins as the duo shared 15 wickets between them to level the five-Test series 1-1. In the first Test of the series in Perth, Yashasvi Jaiswal (161) and Virat Kohli (100 not out) struck centuries in the second innings while KL Rahul played a gritty knock of 77 to guide India to a 295-run emphatic win in the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma.

However, the momentum shifted in Australia’s favour in the second Test with Indian batters failing to tackle the attack from Starc and Cummins as they bundled out the visitors for 180 & 175 at Adelaide Oval.

“One area where India would like to improve is the partnership. We need to have big partnerships We didn’t get a good partnership in Adelaide because of which we did not have enough runs on the board. If we have 300-350 on the board then our bowlers have the capability to bowl them out,” Harbhajan said on Star Sports.

Hayden also flagged India’s batting performance in the pink-ball Test and called for a better show in Brisbane.

“Team India just did not bat well enough, there’s no doubt. Even though this was a difficult track to bat on, they should not have been bowled out in under a day and a half. So that needs to be rectified for the Brisbane Test match,” Hayden said.

Meanwhile, the former Australian batter extended praise for India’s bowling performance led by speedster Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj despite Travis Head’s scintillating 140-run knock that set the tone of the match for the hosts.

“Bowling I thought, on average was pretty good. When you thought of the freakish innings that Travis Head played, 140 off 141 deliveries that was just something else. Sometimes, batsmen have their way,” Heyden said.

The third Test between India and Australia will be played in Brisbane from December 14.

Former Australia captain Allan Border has expressed his disappointment over the team’s inability to contain Virat Kohli during the first Test in Perth and feels that can potentially cost the hosts the five-match series. Kohli, who had not scored a Test century in 18 months, roared back to form with an unbeaten 100 in the second innings as India secured a thumping 295-run victory over the hosts. “I was really disappointed in the way we let Kohli roll on to a hundred without much resistance,” Border told SEN radio on Friday morning.

“We don’t want this guy full of confidence for the rest of the series.” Border also questioned the tactics of skipper Pat Cummins, suggesting they allowed Kohli to regain his rhythm after his struggles against New Zealand in the recent home series. Kohli’s century marked his seventh ton on Australian soil.

Former opener Matthew Hayden also took aim at Cummins, criticising the field placements after Kohli’s arrival in the middle.

“They missed a few tricks with Virat Kohli in the early part of his innings. Nathan Lyon had mid-on back, one on the off-side catching and a mid-wicket. I felt like it was so easy for him to get off strike,” Hayden had told Channel 7 after India’s win.

“You can’t cut a sucker an even break when a bloke is under pressure as he was. The field we actually finished with – two slips, no point, a man straight – it offered up the outside edge of his bat as well. He found it a little more frustrating. When he got the bit between the teeth, it was too late.

Hayden also pointed to tactical lapses during India’s earlier partnership, noting the delayed use of short-ball strategies.

“Jaiswal looked vulnerable against it. Maybe tiny things with Pat Cummins, the ability to think through these decisions. They were shell-shocked from the average batting performance (in the first innings) and as we see now, again, bombs are going,” he said.

Former Australia batter Matthew Hayden has weighed in on India’s shock 0-3 loss at home to New Zealand earlier this month. The loss was a huge blow to India’s hopes of reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) final. The Rohit Sharma-led will be under significant pressure with a five-match Test series against Australia just around the corner. However, Hayden labelled the defeat against New Zealand, which was their first home Test series defeat in 12 years, as the reality check India needed. 

“It’s probably the kick up the a**e that India need. Even though India copped a drubbing in that series … and were lightweight in terms of their own performance … the fact that they’ve played long format cricket is an advantage from a preparation point of view,” Hayden told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hayden also suggested time will tell whether Nathan McSweeney will have a great Test career, adding that for him, he looks to be a good choice in opening the batting during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy. 

McSweeney got the nod to open the batting for the all-important five-match series against India via knocks of 39 and 88 not out as a number four batter in the first four-day game against India A at Mackay, before amassing scores of 14 and 25 as an opener in the second four-day game at Melbourne.

He generally bats at number three and four in domestic cricket but is now all set to open the batting alongside Usman Khawaja at Perth, starting on November 22. “Time will tell. That’s the political answer. From a former opening batsman’s point of view, I’d like to just confirm that he’s a good choice.”

“It doesn’t really matter where you start (in the order). What really matters is you’ve got the character and the qualities that are required to play Test match cricket for Australia. I don’t personally know Nathan, but it’s been confirmed by (selector) George Bailey that he is a special talent and has been groomed for potential leadership roles,” said Hayden.

(With IANS Inputs)