Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri launched a scathing attack on India’s batsmen for their poor batting performance against Australia in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Shastri was not happy with the performance of the batsmen on the last day where they could not save the match despite being in a good position.
The former India all-rounder mentioned the criticism of “two senior players and one youngster”. Although he did not mention the names, it was clear that he was referring to Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant.
Ravi Shastri also compared the performances of the two captains, Rohit Sharma and Pat Cummins. While Cummins has performed exceptionally well raising his standards throughout the series, Rohit has been miserable and produced below average performances.
Read also: Rishabh Pant to be dropped for Sydney Tests, replacement finalised
Ravi Shastri takes a brutal taunt to the Indian batsmen
Writing for his column in The Daily Telegraph, Sydney, Ravi Shastri was pleased with the way the Indian crowds have filled the stadiums and feels it is a good advertisement for Test cricket.
“It was amazing to see how Indian crowds had traveled from all parts of the world to experience Test cricket at its best at the ‘G (MCG),” observed Shastri.
However, he also believes that the Indian batsmen played some poor shots on the fifth day which ultimately cost them the game. The former India coach admitted that India have lost their grip on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“Unfortunately for them, poor shot selection on either side of the intermediate session on the final day cost India the match. And probably ensured that India lost control of the Border trophy Gavaskar when there is a Test missing,” he added. .
Ravi Shastri compares Rohit Sharma and Pat Cummins
While comparing the captains of the two teams, Shastri congratulated Cummins for elevating his game to a new level. Cummins started slowly but picked up his pace from the next game. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma has looked well below par so far. The Indian skipper is very short of runs and has not had a great series as captain either.
“There will be a few other second-innings dismissals that will also be scrutinized in India, with two senior players and one youngster. Three very loose shots. It doesn’t help when one of them involves the captain who is struggling,” explained Shastri .
“It also doesn’t help when Cummins raises his game to a scale of 8 or 9 against his counterpart, who is at the opposite end of the scale,” added the former India all-rounder.
Rishabh Pant’s dismissal was the turning point
While Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s poor form continued in Melbourne, Rishabh Pant’s delivery came under a lot of scrutiny when he attempted a big shot from mid-wicket off Travis Head but was caught in the deep. .
Pant’s wicket was the turning point as India started losing wickets in bunches from that point. All three players, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have had a disappointing run with the bat with Rohit scoring the least runs between them.
