Published - | Updated - March 4, 2023 08:51 am
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The wickets used in India and Australia’s current Border-Gavaskar Trophy have continuously dominated headlines, with all three Test matches ending within three days. The International Cricket Council (ICC) rated the Indore pitch as bad, assigning it three demerit points. Former India selector Saba Karim expressed concern about the series’ increasing reliance on spin-friendly pitches, even challenging the strategy’s relevance to the spirit of the game. During a recent interview, he criticised the Indore pitch’s lack of support for batsmen, noting that an even contest would be appreciated by both fans and players.
Australia has Steve Smith, and India has Virat Kohli, two of the best batsmen in the world. Yet, we haven’t seen them bat in this series. What are we intending to show by making such wickets? At the end of Day 2 of the Indore Test, he informed India News.
We have lost the spirit of Test cricket in our ambition to reach the WTC final. Both the No. 1 and No. 2 teams are competing here. It would have been great to see them compete in all aspects of Test cricket The former India selector explained the controversy when asked about it.
Australia overcame India by nine wickets in the third Test on a pitch with severe spin and unpredictable bounce, securing their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Travis Head (49 not out) and Marnus Labuschagne (28 not out) overcame jitters to lead Australia to victory in 18.5 overs, completing the match in just over two days.
Wins in India are exceptional for visiting teams, and Australia’s first victory in six years was no exception.
It was only India’s third defeat in the last 10 years, and they will need to reconsider their tactics before the final Test, which begins on March 9 in Ahmedabad. The pitches in the series have also been severely criticised, and it remains to be seen whether India’s preference for spin-friendly tracks will change in the future, with the home team’s hitters unable to cope with the challenging conditions.
In their two innings, India only managed 109 and 163.
On Friday morning, anything looked possible after Australia’s collapse in Nagpur and Delhi’s second innings. Australia were chasing a meagre 76 when R Ashwin caught Usman Khawaja behind in the second delivery, raising hopes of a miracle.
On its way to the wicketkeeper, the ball took a fast turn and a light tickle. The wicket added to the tension in the Australian dressing room.
Labuschagne calmed the jitters by square cutting Ravindra Jadeja for the day’s first boundary.
Both Labuschagne and Head, who is known for his offensive attitude, looked to defend in the first 10 overs, with Australia reaching 13 for one.
However, the momentum switched dramatically in Australia’s favour once the ball was changed after the 10th over.
Even after changing balls, Ashwin remained dissatisfied, and it showed in his bowling. Head whacked the great Indian spinner for four and six over mid-on in the 11th over because the premier spinner was bowling too full.
In the next over, Head attacked Jadeja, hitting one clean over the bowler’s head, allowing Labuschagne the confidence to go for the sweep in the same over, bringing the score to 35 for one in 12 overs.
After that, there was no turning back for the Aussie combination, who had gained enough confidence to go for their shots.
To finish off a memorable victory, Labuschagne smashed the winning runs, a four over midwicket.