‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth’- Australia legend draws parallel between Mike Tyson and India vs Australia Test series

Australia is currently visiting India for a four-game Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Everyone understood that the Australian team would face a difficult battle because India is practically unstoppable at home. The next two Tests in the series won’t be any easier for the tourists because they have already dominated the previous two. 

Australia made the decision to field only one pacer in Delhi, captain Pat Cummins, after being destroyed by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur. They dropped Scott Boland and gave left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann his Test debut. That might have proved to be the right option on that pitch as Australia took a small first innings lead because of their good bowling attack. 

What did Greg Chappell say about the Australian team?

Greg Chappell while talking to Morning Herald spoke about Australia’s tour thus far. He said, “It was Mike Tyson who said in the lead-up to a fight with Evander Holyfield. “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. My concern after watching the first two Tests is that the Australian team punched themselves in the mouth long before the first ball was even bowled. It is one thing to plan, but to base that plan on a flawed premise is an exercise in futility.” 

The Australian legend spoke about Australia not playing to their strengths. He said, “Australia needed to play to their strengths to have a chance of winning this series. Spin bowling is not our strength. Picking spinners for the sake of it is not the way to success in India. We had to pick our best bowlers and trust them to do the job and back that with sensible batting, based on sound principles.” 

Chappell then spoke about the decision of dropping Boland and using only one pacer. He said, “That Cummins under-bowled himself and failed to use the short ball on a wicket of variable bounce was another mistake. To complete the trifecta, it seems that no one saw fit to tell Cummins that he was under-bowling and that he should use the short ball.”