India vs Australia 2023

‘He was playing shots off his back foot which i thought…’ – Peter Handscomb reveals how Ajinkya Rahane helped him against spin

Australia did not have the best of starts in the four-match Test series against India as they lost the first Test match by an innings and 132 runs and the second Test by six wickets. Australia’s batters have not had any answer to the Indian spinners, so far, in the Test series. The third Test will be played at Indore on March 1st.

One of the bright spots for Australia has been Peter Handscomb, who scored a stroke-filled 72 off 142 balls, including nine fours in the second Test in Delhi. Handscomb talked about how former India batter Ajinkya Rahane helped him to score against spin in 2016. This has helped Handscomb improve his spin game immensely. In the second innings, he got out for a duck.

‘I was like I need someone to teach me that’ – Peter Handscomb

“He was playing these shots off his back foot through midwicket which I thought were ridiculous,” Handscomb told Sydney Morning Herald. “I was like, wow I need someone to teach me that. So we spoke about getting his front leg out of the way and being able to manipulate the ball from there. That helps your back foot become a scoring zone, and then if they overpitch, you can hopefully score off the front foot as well. Then with all their good balls you just find a way to defend.” The right-handed batter added.

“India personally outplayed me in that situation. They gave me my scoring gap, but without the reward, so it was just going to be a single, but tempted me to hit the ball there. And I fell for that and tried to manipulate the ball there when had that been my third ball of the first innings, I would have just tried to defend, because I was still trying to understand the pitch and what was going on,” Handscomb explained.

“For me, it’s just about being stronger and starting again. I probably walked out there thinking ‘I’m still on 72 not out, I can just pick up where I left off’, and you can’t think like that.” Handscomb said that the atmosphere around the Australian dressing room is very upbeat and that they are not pressing the panic button yet.