"Punched Themselves In Mouth": Australia Great's Scathing Take On Team's Capitulation In India

Citing Mike Tyson, Australian great Greg Chappell has slammed the team's forgettable performance in the first two Tests against India, saying the visitors "punched themselves in the mouth long before the first ball was even bowled". Australia have already conceded the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after being hammered in the first two Tests of the four-match series, both games ending under three days and prompting sharp reactions from the country's former cricketers. "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," Chappell wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald.

He has also questioned Australia's planning for the ongoing tour of the country.

"It is one thing to plan, but to base that plan on a flawed premise is an exercise in futility," he added.

Beaten by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur, Australia opted to go in with only one pacer in Delhi -- skipper Pat Cummins. They dropped Scott Boland and handed debut to left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann.

"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." He said leaving out Boland for an extra spinner was a mistake.

"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