The Indian cricket team had a forgettable start to the ongoing 4-match Test series against Australia. The visitors’ batting collapse in the day-night Test resulted in them recording their lowest score in an innings in the longest format of the game, 36 for 9, that set a final total of 90-runs for Tim Paine & Co, who chased down the target with eight wickets in hand at the Adelaide Oval.
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Opting to bat first, India had amassed 244 runs in the first innings, with skipper Virat Kohli scoring a gritty 74 and being the highest run-getter in the Indian batting order. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane followed with scores of 43 and 42 that pushed the team past the 200-run mark. However, Kohli’s run-out in the first innings turned out to be a turning point in the game as India witnessed a collapse from 188/4 to 244/10.
Speaking on the Indian batting collapse, former Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist reckons that the visitors need to address the technique issue arising with their opener Prithvi Shaw, which cost them starts in both the innings. Shaw recorded scores of duck and 4 runs in the first and second innings respectively and was dismissed in a similar manner on each occasion.
Gilchrist, who played a pivotal role in Australia’s triumph in Test cricket in their golden era, feels that the technical fault in Shaw’s batting could lose him a spot in the playing XI for the second match, a Boxing Day Test, at Melbourne Cricket Ground. And as per the speculations going around, Shubman Gill could replace Shaw in the lineup.
“In both innings, Prithvi Shaw’s early dismissal put the team on the back foot. Shaw as a part of the team during the last India series here, and there has been plenty of hype and build-up around the youngster. This has also meant that his technique has been scrutinised and there was a clear plan to exploit the gap between his bat and pad that is a matter of concern for the youngster,” stated Gilchrist in his column for Mid-Day.
He added,” Shaw has also been prone to expansive shots which might backfire in Australian conditions because he will be liable to edging one to gully. While he is a talented youngster, his performance will put the selectors in a dilemma as they plan for the Boxing Day Test.”
Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli exhibited superb defense in the first innings: Adam Gilchrist
India’s bankable batting duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli had rendered a defensive display in the first innings, contributing 68-runs off 191 deliveries to the third-wicket stand. However, their failure to emulate the same in the second innings resulted in the collapse. Furthermore, Gilchrist pointed out that India was not looking for scoring opportunities but it was Kohli’s masterclass that paved their way to a decent total.
“Looking back at the first innings, I would think that the seemingly slow batting from Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli was, in fact, superb defensive batting. That was what India failed to replicate in the second innings.
In the first innings it had seemed that India was not looking for scoring opportunities, but Kohli’s masterclass of concentration alongside Pujara and later Ajinkya Rahane is what ensured that India reached 244,” wrote Gilchrist.
