Batting great Sachin Tendulkar gave his opinion on India’s humiliating defeat against Australia in the opening Test match at Adelaide. Team India batsmen failed miserably in the second innings of the first Test and were bowled out on 36 as Australia won the match by 8 wickets.
After the defeat, players of Team India came under a lot of scanners for their below-par performances. Tendulkar claims Team India had enough experienced players in the first Test but luck was not in their favour at Adelaide Oval.
“They have dealt with pressure situations. Barring Prithvi [Shaw], and possibly Mayank [Agarwal], all the players have played enough. Virat, Ajinkya [Rahane], Cheteshwar [Pujara] and [Wriddhiman] Saha have been around while Hanuma Vihari, compared to these guys, has played less. So, players have the ability to soak that pressure and they did their best,” Tendulkar told IANS in an exclusive interview.
“But sometimes you also need luck to be on your side. And as I said there were not a number of occasions when the [Indian] batters were getting beaten and continuing to bat without losing wickets. That did not happen. The edges were going straight to fielders and they were carrying,” he emphasised.
India won the toss and scored 244 and did well to bowl out hosts Australia for 191 to take a 53-run lead. But in the second innings, India inexplicably capitulated for 36 — their lowest ever total in Test cricket — with not a single batsman getting into double digits. And Australia in their second innings scored 93 for two for an easy eight-wicket win to take a 1-0 lead in the four-Test series.
Tendulkar said that the wicket became harder in the second innings of the first Test as it was generating more pace and bounce.
“In the [Australian] first innings, there were a number of edges but the ball didn’t carry to fielders. I remember, at least three times the ball didn’t carry. In the second innings, the wicket had become harder, and there was more pace and bounce in the surface. There wasn’t exaggerated off-the-seam movement,” said Tendulkar.
The Master Blaster also talked about the allrounder’s debate in India’s Test team and said that Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja’s batting are their added bonus but team management should pick them on their bowling ability.
“Ashwin can really bat well. He is capable of getting a good partnership, handy and important runs. When we talk about Ashwin and Jadeja, it boils down to whose bowling on a particular pitch would be more useful and then you pick that bowler. Their batting is an added bonus; both can bat. I’m sure the team management must be looking at their bowling ability and picking them without worrying too much about how many runs they would contribute at No.8. Yes, those runs would be important, but they are primarily picked because of their bowling,” he said.
Team India will now lock horns against Australia in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground starting from December 26.