Cricket - ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 - Semi-Final - Australia Practice - Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India - November 14, 2023 Australia's Pat Cummins during practice REUTERS/Andrew Boyers/File Photo
PERTH, Australia (Reuters) - Australia were well off the pace in Perth and have plenty to work on before the second test in Adelaide, captain Pat Cummins said after a 295-run thumping by India in the first test on Monday.
Man-of-the-match Jasprit Bumrah, captaining in place of Rohit Sharma, took eight wickets as Australia were skittled for 104 and 238.
"You're sitting in the change room after a loss like that and it hurts. When a team declares on you, it's never an amazing feeling," the 31-year-old told reporters, referring to India's third innings declaration of 487-6 to set the hosts a massive target of 534.
"The biggest challenge, and the most important thing, is how do you bounce back ... We're clearly well off the mark, there's a lot to work on."
The Australia bowlers were impressive on day one, dismissing the visitors for 150 but the local batsmen were not up to the task, slumping to 67-7 in a session on the way to 104 all out.
Cummins defended his batsmen, however, saying there had been plenty of times when they had dragged the team's bowlers out of tight situations.
Number three Marnus Labuschagne is in the spotlight after being trapped lbw twice, scoring a laboured two off 52 balls and following it up with a duck.
"At his best he's one of the scariest propositions for opposition bowlers to bowl at," Cummins said.
"Marn, along with a few guys, didn't have the week we would have wanted."
Wholesale changes are not on the cards for the hosts, who have not won a home series after losing the opening test since the West Indies toured in 1968-69.
"This is a sample size of one. Five days ago we thought this was our best 11 so I dare say there won't be many changes going into Adelaide, but I'm not a selector," the skipper said.
The match was swept away from Australia by 22-year-old opener Yashasvi Jaiswal's 161 and Virat Kohli, who made 100 not out to break a 16-month century drought.
"We couldn't get the breakthroughs, I thought they played really well. Not much really went our way this game," Cummins said.
"Some of (the plans) looked pretty good but didn't necessarily come off straight away, others not so much but I thought there was some good information gathered there that we can take into the rest of the series."
(Reporting by Joel Dubber, editing by Ed Osmond)
