Published 16:19 IST, January 20th 2021
Michael Vaughan takes U-turn, SLAMS Tim Paine and Australia to begin Ashes 2021 mind games
Former England captain Michael Vaughan, who was apprehensive of India's chances Down Under, has now blasted Tim Paine for his ordinary captaincy.
The injury-marred Indian team had a herculean task of overpowering the mighty Aussies in their own backyard. Virat Kohli's departure, along with the side's injury woes, made the task even more daunting for the visitors. However, the contingent showcased immense composure and claimed a historic Test series victory Down Under. Former England captain, Michael Vaughan, who was one of the cricketing experts to write off India ahead of the tour, has now criticized the Australian team for their underwhelming outing.
India vs Australia 4th Test 2021: Michael Vaughan targets Tim Paine and co. for their approach
The Indian team defied significant odds to stage a spectacular turnaround after their lacklustre performance in the opening Test of the series. The touring party relied purely on their cricketing merit to outwit the hosts and successfully retained the iconic Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 2-1 victory. England's Michael Vaughan recently slammed the home team for their ordinary efforts. From Tim Paine's captaincy to the impotence of their bowling department, the 46-year-old ripped apart England's arch-rivals in his UK Telegraph column.
The ex-cricketer highlighted how the team's batting order lacked firepower. According to Vaughan, apart from Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, no other player has contributed significantly with the bat in the recently concluded series. The cricketer-turned-commentator also pointed out the inability of the bowling attack as he reckoned that they failed to provide crucial breakthroughs. Despite having a formidable pace battery alongside a finger spinner, the bowlers looked clueless against India's resilience.
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Michael Vaughan also expressed his apprehensions regarding Tim Paine's leadership as he pointed out the wicketkeeper's inability of winning encounters that go down to the wire. He mentioned that he was not necessarily impressed with how Paine has led his team in the series and labelled his decisions as 'strange'. As per Vaughan, Australia should contemplate on passing on the captaincy to Alex Carey, as he feels Tim Paine's absence will not have any impact on the team. Vaughan also claimed that seeing Australia's current state and the fact that they lost in Brisbane after years in this fashion, gives England their best-ever chance to regain the Ashes on Australian soil. England are set to tour Australia in the end of 2021, having last done so 4 years ago.
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India vs Australia 4th Test 2021: Rishabh Pant's onslaught guides India to a monumental series win
The Test series between cricketing giants India and Australia was nothing short of a blockbuster. The ultimate day of the final Test match promised to be an exhilarating one considering the dynamics of the contest. With India needing 324 more runs for the win and Australia in search of 10 wickets, the game could have shifted in either direction. However, Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara gave the visitors a fabulous start after the early dismissal of Rohit Sharma. Rishabh Pant delivered the knockout blow with his phenomenal unbeaten 89 to seal the series.
Image source: Cricket.com.au Twitter
Updated 16:19 IST, January 20th 2021