New Delhi: Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar pointed out that the no-ball by left-arm spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the second session of Day One in the third Test at Holkar Stadium in Indore that gave a life to Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne as the ‘turning point’ of the match.
Labuschagne was on zero on day one in Australia’s first innings when he was cleaned up by Jadeja. But replays showed that he had overstepped and from there, Labuschagne joined forces with Usman Khawaja which gave Australia an 88-run lead, which proved decisive, leading to them winning the match by nine wickets.
“If you look back, you will say that is probably what cost India the match because after that they (Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja) stitched a partnership of 96 when India were dismissed for 109. So I think that was probably the turning point. That no ball (when Labuschagne was bowled for a duck against Jadeja) cost India the match,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying to Star Sports.
Gavaskar further pointed out that India were 60-70 runs short in the first innings, after opting to bat first. In their first innings, India lost seven wickets in the first session to be eventually bowled out for 109.
“Batters actually didn’t do justice to their talent. If you look at the Indian wickets, you will find it is the Indian batters who got themselves out, playing some shots anticipating that this is what the pitch is going to do.”
“The pitch started to talk in the first hour itself, so it wasn’t going to be easy but still if we had made 160-170 in the first innings that could have made the difference,” he added.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra felt the lack of opening partnerships for India at Indore was one of the big reasons for their underwhelming performance.
“In the 3rd Test, India got success from an unlikely quarter, where Umesh Yadav took three wickets and suddenly there was a thought that they were in a good position to prevent 150 runs on the board, so Umesh Yadav helped them to pull back a little.”
“He did some reverse swings, which got wickets, and then came Ravichandran Ashwin, who also took three wickets. But to win the match, it was very important that they had a strong opening, but they didn’t have one. Shubman Gill tried to hit a big one but got out on Nathan Lyon’s bowl.”
“Rohit Sharma also got out, gets a hit on his pads, and took the DRS with him as well. Cheteshwar Pujara came and made a gritty fifty that helped India get a lead; he stood his ground and played really well, and if we look at both innings from the Indian perspective, then it came from him alone.”
“Virat Kohli comes next, hits a six, but gets out. Then the lower order collapsed, Shreyas Iyer and one after the other, wickets fell fast. So, they lacked resilience in their team which was very much needed,” elaborated Chopra on JioCinema’s daily sports show ‘#AakashVani’.
With the win in Indore, Australia have made the four-game scoreline 2-1 and also sealed a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, to be held at The Oval from June 7-11. The fourth and final Test of the series will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad from March 9.
IANS