Border-Gavaskar Trophy: 'Australia guilty of not trying enough,' says Mark Waugh after humiliating 1st Test loss

Being brutally honest former Australian batsman Mark Waugh has said the Australian cricketers are "guilty of not trying enough" and were waiting for the Indian batters to make a mistake.

India humiliated World No. 1 Australia by an innings and 132 runs in the opening game of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 in Nagpur. The first Test ended within three days on Saturday as the tourists were bowled out for 91 in their second innings.

The match saw many Australian batters get off to good starts but none of them managed to convert it into anything substantial. After winning the toss, Pat Cummins opted to bat but his side was bowled out for 177. India got to 400, thanks to skipper Rohit Sharma's century and crucial fifties down the order from Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja. Tail-ender Mohammed Shami also chipped in with a valuable knock of 37, which saw him hit three sixes of the Aussie bowling.

India gained a lead of 223 runs and sealed the match by bowling Australia out for just 91 runs, with Steve Smith's unbeaten 25 being their highest score.

"The pitch was fresh, it looked like it was spinning a lot more. They got Jadeja out early on. You have got to give credit to Axar Patel and Mohammad Shami, they batted really well. There was a dropped catch for Shami, which was costly. I think from my point of view, Patel batted really well", Waugh said on Star Sports.

"I would have liked to see Pat Cummins bowl a bit more. I don't think they bowled enough short stuff. When the tailenders start to form a partnership and look comfortable on the crease, I believe it's worth to roll the dice a little bit.

"I know the surface is slow but you never know what you can get out of it. I think Australia only bowled two or three short balls in the entire innings. I think they should have hit the pitch hard and see what happens. Maybe the Australians are guilty of not trying enough and waiting for something to happen, a mistake by the Indian batters maybe," added Waugh.

India went 1-0 up in the four-match series, with the second Test scheduled to begin on Feb. 17 in Delhi. Ahead of the big game, Australia have flown in left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann.

Kuhnemann has been called in as a replacement for legspinner Mitchell Swepson who is leaving the touring squad for the birth of his child.

With left-arm spinner Ashton Agar overlooked for the first Test in Nagpur, Kuhnemann, who is en route Delhi, could just make his Test debut and play alongside Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy if the touring side decides to add a third spinner.

"He's a live chance to play in the next Test match. If we play three spinners then we clearly want back-up here and available in the squad if that's the way we want to go. That's why we've got four spinners in the squad," Australia's head coach Andrew McDonald told reporters on Sunday.