Mumbai, July 1: Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan criticised the much-vaunted Indian cricket team's batting performance in the World Test Championship Final against New Zealand last month. Team India's shambolic batting performance was the major letdown and a reason for their defeat in yet another ICC final.
In a rain-truncated Test match that concluded on the reserve day, India lost by eight wickets primarily because of their below-par batting effort. While analysing the Virat Kohli-led side's performance in the WTC Final, Pathan said Team India's decision to play with fewer batsmen backfired big time.
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India went with six batsmen and five bowlers, including two spin bowling all-rounders in R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Both Ashwin and Jadeja failed to live up to the expectations with the bat and that aggravated India's problem as the top-order batting looked fragile too, partially because of lack of match practice. He even slammed the shot selection of Rishabh Pant in the big final where he ended up throwing his wicket away at a critical juncture in the game.
Speaking exclusively on Star Sports' show 'Follow The Blues', Pathan said, "I think India played with fewer batsmen - which I highlighted before the ICC World Test Championship Final. I feel there was a need for one more batsman in the team. We do not have quality fast-bowling all-arounder - which New Zealand possesses - and it is hard to find one.
"Now, If we talk from a proper cricketing point of view - what went wrong for India? I think the first inning went great, but Team India's batting in the second inning was disappointing. The ball wasn't swinging as much in the second inning, and Indian batsmen could have batted more responsibly. I am aware of Rishabh Pant's capabilities as a batsman and how he can hit balls very well, but that does not mean you hit a fast bowler outside - a sense of responsibility was required. Indian batters were using a lot of pull shots on bouncers; instead of using their body and this showed a lack of commitment," Pathan rued.
Dilip Vengsarkar 'amazed' with Virat Kohli & Co.'s 20-day break post WTC final loss against New ZealandThe cricketer-turned all-rounder, however, believes that Team India would do the introspection before the upcoming Test series against England and they'll find the answers to the tough questions posed in the WTC Final as English bowlers are also going to exploit their vulnerabilities in the forthcoming series.
"These questions are tough, but I hope Indian batsmen have the strength to give their answers in the future. And now we are back on the same topic - Kiwi batsmen were able to make 140 runs with the loss of two wickets, but our Indian team lost eight wickets building the same score," the former Baroda cricketer opined.
Pathan also spoke on how the lack of match practice affected India's position in the WTC Final, "By the time we (Team India) started fielding for the second session, our bowlers were already tired. This happened because India didn't get enough match practice. When a team gets less match practice, they don't have the kind of match fitness required for a particular game. I feel this will improve eventually. I think Indian bowlers should've opted for more bouncers - the way Neil Wagner did. And improvement is required in length because we witnessed a lot of cut shots and back-foot punches from Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor."