India’s top-order batting unit, which consisted of Shubman Gill, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, averaged only 21.25 in the first Test against New Zealand at Green Park, Kanpur. From top-order, only Shubman Gill managed to register a fifty in his name; however, in the second innings, he got out on 1.
Debutant Shreyas Iyer was the sole Indian batsman who performed well in both the innings of the match, in the first innings, he smashed a century and, in the second innings, a fifty. Also, Ravindra Jadeja and Wriddhiman Saha were the Indian batters who scored fifty in the match.
Cheteshwar Pujara In The Second Innings, If You See The Dismissal, It’s Almost A Repeat Of The Same Mistakes – VVS Laxman
Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman, disappointed with India’s top-order failure, said that India needs to address the batting problem before the next match. He also pinpointed that the Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara who scored 26 and 22 runs got out identically in both the innings of the match. Laxman feels that there were a lot of mistakes and technical flaws which will require close attention from coaches. He elaborated:
“One thing I am disappointed with this Indian Test team after this match is their batting, especially their top order, and it needs to be addressed before the next Test.”
“It’s not about getting out but how they got out. Pujara in the second innings, if you see the dismissal, it’s almost a repeat of the same mistakes. And India are playing this Test match after a long break, so it is expected from professionals to rectify their mistake and introspect on what went wrong and continue to do what was working for you.
“Unfortunately, a lot of those mistakes were because of technical flaws. And that’s something I’m sure that Rahul and Vikram Rathour will look very closely,” Laxman added.
VVS Laxman also said that India declaring the innings five overs earlier on Day 4 would have created a big difference in the match. Speaking on Star Sports, he said:
“They could have probably declared five overs before they did. I didn’t see any intent from Axar Patel or Wriddhiman Saha. Yes you wanted to get to a score which was above 274. But we all know that the last few overs are very very tough for any batsman however established he is. So I definitely feel that that probably should have bowled five overs more. That would have been the difference. But having said that, today, the bowlers did stick to their task.”
After losing 9 wickets, New Zealand managed to avoid the defeat on the final Day, and many cricket experts opined that India made a mistake by declaring the innings late. Now India and New Zealand will lock in the second Test match from December 3 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
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