Nowhere else in the world does getting out feel as embarrassing as at the Optus. The closed, bowl-like structure traps the noise of the fans; two giant on-field screens, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, repeat the sequence on a loop. A thousand, smaller television sets inside the arena relay the moments of batsmen’s disappointment to the audience. Batsmen would feel as though it’s a post mortem by thousands of eyes. The agony of losing one’s wicket is not enough; the long trudge to the dressing room is a worse ordeal.

Several of India’s batsmen endured the crushing pain on Sunday. The top-four mustered only 29 runs off 64 -balls in a total of 136/9 in 26 overs; Australia surpassed the DLS-adjusted total of 131 with seven wickets in hand and 29 balls to spare.

The conditions were a

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