Shane Watson’s first Test as captain ended in defeat. That too, under three days!
If that was not bad enough for Watson, the result also meant Australia
lost four matches in a series for the first time since the 1978-79 Ashes
series.
But the defeat in the final Test here was not as close at the scorecard
suggests. Watson and his men knew they had evened out things early on
Sunday before the match eventually turned India’s way.
“I thought we were definitely in the game. If we got to 150 and more, if
we bowled well on that wicket, then we were going to give ourselves a
very good chance. Unfortunately, things didn’t go exactly right with the
ball,” said Watson soon after India’s six-wicket victory.
Very disappointing
Reflecting on the 4-0 drubbing, Watson said, “It's extremely
disappointing. We came here with high hopes of having a good series. And
the 4-0 (margin) here is what we deserved. The Indians have totally
outplayed us. We haven’t played to our best, unfortunately.”
Talking about the state of the pitch here, Watson point out, “If you saw
a few of the dismissals, you’d probably realise that it wasn’t that
easy to bat out there and that we are doing everything we possibly can.
Sometimes a ball has got your name on it on a wicket like that.
Sometimes, like I did today, you just play a bad shot.
“There is no doubt that these conditions were very difficult and very
challenging, even for one of the greatest players ever to play the game.
“Sachin Tendulkar struggled out there as well with the spin and the
inconsistent spin and bounce. So I think that probably gives a few of us
batsmen a little bit of encouragement that even one of the greats of
the game struggled on that wicket.
When quizzed about his decision to change the batting-order, the captain
said, “We knew how important it was to try and take on that new ball.
It was always easiest to score when the ball was brand new. In those
conditions, we knew how important it was to try and take the game on a
little bit. Glenn Maxwell certainly has got the ability to do that. I
thought it wasn’t going to mix up the batting-order too much and
potentially could get the innings off to a flyer, to get us really
going. Unfortunately it didn’t exactly work out to plan.”
Loved captaincy
Finally, on getting the taste of captaincy, Watson said, “I’ve
absolutely loved it, to be totally honest. Of course, I’ll hand it back
because Michael (Clarke) is the man, I’ve got no say in that. Even
though I haven’t been able to contribute with run-scoring unfortunately,
for the last three days I’ve had an absolute ball, being able to lead
the guys. Whatever I asked of the team, everyone gave it absolutely
everything. That’s all you can ask for.”
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