Border Gavaskar Trophy: Australian HC hosts men’s cricket team

Congress leaders are in attendance as the Australian HC hosts their beleaguered men’s cricket team

NEW DELHI | Updated: 15 February, 2023 9:59 pm IST

Australian men's cricket team captain Pat Cummins with senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and Australian High Commissioner Barry O’Farrell

The Australian High Commission in India hosted the embattled Australian cricket team, who are down in the dumps following a humiliating loss in the opening Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Nagpur.

A galaxy of stars, including skipper Pat Cummins and star batters Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner, were present on the occasion.

But what caught the attention was the presence of Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor, Alka Lamba and Vivek Tankha. The leaders were invited by the Australian High Commissioner Barry O’Farrell. Deputy High Commissioner Sarah Storey was also present on the occasion.

Tharoor, Lamba and Tankha also shared pictures from the occasion on their social media accounts. Showing sportsmanship, the trio also wished the team all the very best ahead of their second Test starting Friday, February 17, at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

Apart from Cummins, Smith, Labuschagne and Warner, wicketkeeper Alex Carey, veteran spinner Nathan Lyon, injured all-rounder Mitchell Starc, latest spin sensation Todd Murphy and batting all-rounder Cameroon Green were also seen in the pictures shared by the Congress leaders.

Congress leaders Alka Lamba and Vivek Tankha with David Warner

The event should serve as a good break to the embattled Australian team as they would like to shake off their innings and 132-run defeat in Nagpur.

While the Australians struggled to deal with the spin twist provided by R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, the Indians demonstrated how to bat in such conditions.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma scored a century, while spin all-rounders Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja scored half-centuries.

Though debutant Murphy shone with the ball, picking seven wickets, Australia’s batting left a lot to be desired after an abject surrender in the second innings, where they were bowled out for just 91.

Murphy’s haul means India might include a fit-again Shreyas Iyer, who made a reputation with his ability to tackle spin, to make Cheteshwar Pujara’s 100th Test a memorable one.

The Australians, on the other hand, will mull over whether they can afford to gamble on Cameroon Green and Mitchell Starc, who are coming off injuries, or if they can recall Travis Head, despite his reputation of struggling against spin.