Australia tried every trick in the book to best prepare themselves for the first Test against India in Nagpur. Be it the decision to not play a practice match, and instead, train on specific wickets, or take the 'closest look' possible at the pitch, the tourists did all they could to secure a positive result in the opener. But, the end result was a humiliating defeat by an innings and 132 runs. As reactions on the first match's result surfaced on social media, former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn hilariously trolled Pat Cummins' men.
Ahead of the start of the match, pictures of Australian players like Steve Smith and David Warner observing the Nagpur pitch from a 'microscopic distance' had emerged. It almost felt like they were 'sniffing' the pitch to get its best possible understanding.
Taking a subtle dig at the men from Down Under, Steyn wrote on Twitter: "So quick question to you cricket people. How does one like to read a pitch? Are you a get down on your knees and almost sniff the pitch person or a general stand and observe from the pitch side? Lastly. Did it really help you?"
"So believe it or not but in my playing days I didn't ever like to look at the pitches we played on, most often the first time I saw it was when it was my turn to bowl or bat in that particular game. Working out my length to hit the top of off was done playing," the former Proteas pacer said in another tweet, explaining how he learned from how to bowl on different wickets.
Following the win over Australia, crafted by the Indian spin-bowling pair of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, No.2 India are now on 61.67 percentage points as compared to 70.83 of No.1 Australia.
However, India still need two more wins from the remaining three Tests of the series to guarantee themselves a minimum points percentage of 62.50, which would beyond doubt knock third-placed Sri Lanka out of contention.
If India win all the three remaining matches of the series, they could reach a best possible percentage of 68.06.
With PTI inputs