Former Australian star fast bowler Mitchell Johnson expressed his disappointment with the Australian team's response to the sledging from young Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. Johnson believes that the Australian team should have shown more resilience and not allowed themselves to be intimidated by a 22-year-old player.
Jaiswal's aggressive batting display in the second innings, particularly against Mitchell Starc, included some verbal exchanges. The young Indian player even taunted Starc, questioning his pace. While Jaiswal's confidence and audacity were impressive, Johnson felt that the Australian team should have responded more assertively to the sledging.
Talking about the episode between the duo in Perth Test, the intensity between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mitchell Starc escalated as the match progressed. A powerful straight drive by Jaiswal off Starc's bowling ignited the contest. Starc responded by beating Jaiswal's bat, prompting a playful headshake from the young Indian opener.
Undeterred, Jaiswal continued to assert his dominance, executing a flawless backfoot defensive shot. This prompted a verbal exchange between the two players, with Starc questioning the pace of Jaiswal's deliveries. Jaiswal was then heard giving it back to Starc as he said, "It's coming too slow."
Meanwhile, Johnson wants to see some fight from the Pat Cummins-led Australian team.
"As an outsider watching on, I want to see some fight from this Australian side. Not a debutant and a young opening batter from India getting in the faces of our team on our turf and sledging Mitchell Starc saying he’s bowling too slow," Johnson wrote in his column for The West Australian.
Despite claiming two wickets in India's low first-innings total of 150, Mitchell Starc's impact was limited in the second innings. India's aggressive batting approach, led by Yashasvi Jaiswal, overwhelmed the Australian bowlers, including Starc, who managed to take only one wicket.
Johnson also stressed on the importance of a strong start for Australia in the second Test in Adelaide, which is set to start from December 6. He warned that if Australia fails to dominate from the outset, leveling the series could become a challenging task.
"The Border-Gavaskar series is far from over and it’s certainly not a time to panic. But Australia will need to put pressure on India early when the second Test gets underway at Adelaide Oval on Friday and keep it up or they could find the 1-0 deficit it hard to come back from," Johnson's column further read.
