IND vs AUS: Ravi Shastri lost his cool and tore into the hosts following their nine-wicket loss against Australia in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar series at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Usman Khawaja off the second delivery of the day to instill hope in the Indian hearts, but it soon fizzled out, catalysed by a ball change midway through the session. Composed knocks from Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head steered Australia home after an initial scare.
A win in the third test for India could have secured the series as well as a spot in the upcoming world test championship (WTC). Now the route to the final is a tricky one for the Men in Blue as they either need to win the final Test or rely on the result of the series between Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
Ravi Shastri accused team India of being “overconfident” on the 3rd day during commentary saying, “This is what a little complacency, a little bit of overconfidence can do where you take things for granted, you drop guard and this game will bring you down.”
India was bowled out for 109 in one-and-a-half sessions on Day 1 and was not able to put up much for the show in the second innings either. Except for Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored a valiant half-century, none of the batters stepped up when it mattered. Some of the shot selections by the Indian batters were also criticized by fans and pundits alike.
Former Australian batter Matthew Hayden opined that the players are playing for the spots. He said: “Change of team too. KL Rahul dropped. Some of those things can be a bit destabilizing, players playing for their spots and their opportunities can create a different mindset. This can be said about Travis Head. He was left out of the first Test but came out with a fire in the belly from the second Test, something Australians are known for. Punching above our weight, despite the conditions.”
Two changes were made by Team Blue for the third Test in Indore. Shubman Gill came in place of the struggling KL Rahul while Umesh Yadav was brought in for Mohammed Shami, who was rested for the fixture.
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