Smith lashes ‘panicking’ batsmen after another collapse

MELBOURNE: Australia captain Steve Smith has accused his batsmen of “panicking” under pressure and demanded they show more starch after another collapse against India saw the side thrashed by 50 runs in the second One-day International (ODI) in Kolkata on Thursday.

India set Australia 252 to chase at Eden Gardens and defended it with ease as the tourists lost openers David Warner and Hilton Cartwright for one run apiece and crumbled with a hat-trick to left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav.The world champions trail the hosts 2-0 in the five-match series and have now notched up their 10th ODI loss in succession on foreign pitches.

Clearly fed up, Smith, who scored 59, said his batsmen were making “silly errors” and had to change their approach.“It’s happening a bit too often for my liking, to be honest with you, in all forms of cricket,” Smith told reporters.

“We’ve had a lot of collapses and we need to stop. The guys have trained really well and it’s now about getting out in the middle and executing your skills when you’re under pressure and not panicking.

“I think we panicked last game a little bit and in this game, we just couldn’t get the partnerships. We’re making silly errors when we’re under pressure.”

Australia’s last five batsmen managed a total of 10 runs between them in Kolkata, while the top order rarely looked comfortable playing the spin of Kuldeep and Yuzvendra Chahal.