'Stop whining and play your game' - Mark Taylor advises Australian team to focus on winning Test series against India

Former Australia skipper, Mark Taylor, has advised the Australians to stop complaining about the pitches too much and maintain focus on playing their best game possible for a longer period of time to achieve glory in the subcontinent. Notably, the pitch on offer has been the centre-stage debate in the build up to the first Test between India and Australia. 

Recently, former Australian wicketkeeping legend, Ian Healy, stated that Australia won’t be able to win if India produces unfair wickets in the form of rank turners. Steve Smith put forth his views by saying that the ‘practice games in India are irrelevant,’ as the visitors refused to play a practice game ahead of the four-match Test series. The chief reason provided was that the pitch given for the practice match mostly differs from the official match pitch.

Mark Taylor shares his dime on the pitch controversy

"Australia have to block that out and say, 'We’re playing on the same pitch as India over the next four or five days. We’ve got to make more runs.' That’s as simple as you’ve got to keep it," Taylor wrote in his column for the Sydney Morning Herald.

The legendary opener advised Australia to put all the negatives behind them and start looking for ways to win. Taylor advised Pat Cummins’ side to be mentally strong and play good cricket. "Mentally you’ve got to stay in the game. When it gets hot over there, Virat Kohli hits a couple of fours and the crowd starts chanting, all of a sudden, the game can get away from you very quickly," Taylor alarmingly iterated for the Aussies.

Batting first in the Nagpur Test, Australia have been bowled out for 177 runs in their first innings. Marnus Labuschagne top scored with 49 off 123 balls. Ravindra Jadeja took a five-wicket haul, conceding just 47 runs, while Ravichandran Ashwin ended up taking three wickets for 42 runs. The pace duo, Siraj and Shami shared a wicket each giving the hosts a perfect start.

It will be interesting to see how the Baggy Greens will put behind Day 1 in an attempt to bounce back into the first Test.

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