"I mean we are seeing it a lot more in those short form games" - Michael Hussey believes T20 cricket may have influenced Australia's batting collapse 

India v Australia - 2nd Test: Day 3
Steve Smith perished to the sweep shot in the second innings against India

Former batter Michael Hussey believes that the strokes influenced by the shorter formats may have played a part in Australia's staggering batting collapse in their second innings of the Delhi Test. The Aussies lost nine wickets in a session and eventually succumbed to a six-wicket defeat in Delhi.

The Australian batters employed the wrong approach on a surface that kept low and aided spin as well. They stuck to sweeping and reverse sweeping, which made Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja's tasks easier.

Jadeja finished with career-best figures of 7-42 as India took a 2-0 lead in the four-match series and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Opining how white-ball cricket has played a role in Australia's collapse, Hussey said on Fox Cricket:

"Yes, probably. I mean we are seeing it a lot more in those short form games. We are seeing ramps and all kinds of different shots, which we would never have seen, 10-15 years ago. You know, that's a fair comment".

He continued:

"It's about when you choose. It is a good shot to have in your armory, but it is about playing it at the right time against the right type of bowler in the right conditions and I don't think they got that right."

Several Aussie batters perished to the unorthodox shot during the collapse, with one of them being former skipper Steve Smith. Since the ball was keeping low, none of the batters could judge the bounce well or bring themselves or their bat down in time, leading to their dismissal.


Australia plagued by injury crisis

The Aussies came into the subcontinent with injuries to Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc. While Green and Starc have attained full fitness ahead of the third Test, the rest of the squad is in utter disarray.

Mitchell Swepson and Pat Cummins have flown back to Australia, with the skipper set to return in time for the next clash. David Warner and Josh Hazlewood have been ruled out of the rest of the tour as well.

The two teams will lock horns in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy from March 1 onwards at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.

Has T20 cricket hampered the visitors' strokeplay on tricky wickets? Let us know what you think.


Also Read: [WATCH] Glenn Maxwell taken off the field with a wrist injury on his return to competitive cricket

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