NEW DELHI: Former India cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara attributed India’s disappointing batting efficiency in Adelaide to the gamers’ lack of expertise with the pink ball.
After securing a commanding 157-run first-innings lead, Australia additional tightened their grip on day two by lowering India to 128/5 of their second innings.
Rishabh Pant and rookie all-rounder Nitish Reddy have been on the crease, with India nonetheless trailing by 29 runs and going through an uphill battle to remain within the sport.
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Pujara highlighted the inexperience of Indian batters in opposition to the pink ball, noting that their tendency to play too late contributed to a collection of dismissals.
“The batters performed too late, with most of them getting out due to their inexperience with the pink ball,” Pujara stated on Star Sports activities in his second day’s evaluation.
“They need to have mentioned within the group assembly when to attain runs and when to play defensively. If 2-Three wickets had fallen in the present day, there may have been a comeback likelihood, however now it’s extremely tough,” Pujara added.
Shubman Gill appeared promising throughout his 30-ball 28 however fell to a superb supply from Mitchell Starc, who angled one in to knock him over.
“The ball comes in a short time. Most deliveries have been angled away, and one angled in, which led to Gill’s dismissal,” stated Pujara.
Pujara lauds Pant’s counter-attacking strategy
Whereas India struggled at 128/5 of their second innings, Rishabh Pant offered a spark with a trademark counter-attacking knock, racing to an unbeaten 28 off 25 balls.
Pujara praised Pant’s aggressive strategy, highlighting its significance in shifting the strain again on the bowlers throughout a crucial section of the sport.
“Pant’s counterattack was crucial and unsettled (Scott) Boland together with his vary of pictures. He picked the size nicely, a very good technique.
“Nevertheless, he could have an enormous accountability. If this partnership reaches 100 or extra, India could have an opportunity. That is the final pair for India, because the decrease order is unlikely to contribute a lot in opposition to the pink ball,” Pujara added.
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Pujara slams Indian bowling assault
Pujara additionally criticised the Indian bowling assault for his or her lack of ability to focus on Travis Head with short-pitched deliveries and for permitting him an excessive amount of room on the offside, his most popular scoring space.
Head capitalised on these lapses, smashing a blistering 140 off 141 balls to place Australia in a commanding place within the pink-ball Take a look at.
“Head’s weak point is short-pitched deliveries, which is well-known to the opposition,” Pujara stated.
“However we solely noticed two-three short-pitched deliveries to him… They might have been used extra successfully.
“He dominates the offside, so we may have curbed his offside stroke-making and as a substitute of a 6-3 (offside-onside) a 5-Four area placement would have been a very good ploy in opposition to Head.”
