Former Australian batsman Mike Hussey said that Ravichandran Ashwin’s loss ahead of the second Test could turn out to be a huge blow for India retaining their series lead ahead of the second Test match.
The Tamil Nadu off-spinner took six wickets at the Adelaide Oval but an abdominal strain ruled him out of the second Test in Perth.
“It’ll definitely throw the team balance out quite a lot I would have thought,” Cricket Australia quoted Hussey as saying.
“You could tell quite clearly in Adelaide they liked to use the spinner – much like Australia really – to bowl a lot of overs from one end and then rotate the faster men from the other end,” he added.
Also read: Australia vs India: Rohit Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin ruled out of Perth Test with injuries
Ashwin was one of the architects of India’s win at the Adelaide Oval where he ended with six wickets conceding 149 runs in 86.5 overs as the tourists secured their first Test win in a decade.
India thus went into the second Test match in Perth with a four-pronged pace attack in only the third time in their history.
Australia ended the first innings on 326 after Pat Cummins and Tim Paine battled it out through in the first phase of play on the second day. Ishant Sharma returned with figures with 4/41 and was India’s best performer with the ball.