スニール・ガバスカール氏、インド人ボウラーにオーストラリア第2回テストへのステップアップを促す：「すべきだった…」

ピンクボールテストの1日目にインドが敗退するのを見て、ファンやクリケットの専門家から多くの質問が上がったが、2日目に向けてスニル・ガバスカールがインドのボウラーたちに重要なヒントをいくつか教えてくれた。

Legendary Indian former batter Sunil Gavaskar wants India’s bowlers to step up on Day 2 of the pink-ball Test match. After getting bowled out for 180, many had expected India to bounce back on Day 1, just as they did in the Perth Test. However, the bowlers didn’t find much success, apart from Jasprit Bumrah, who picked up Usman Khawaja’s wicket. What caught the attention was that the bowlers delivered many balls outside the off-stump and failed to consistently target the stumps. Gavaskar expressed his concern about this issue and voiced his disappointment with the Indian bowlers’ lack of discipline with the pink ball.

Sunil Gavaskar on Indian bowling

Speaking on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “They have to make the batters play as much as they can. And this is what happens when you make the batters play as much as you can.”

“You can set them up by bowling a couple of deliveries outside and then get the ball to move back in, as it did to Nathan McSweeney in the Perth Test, or to Labuschagne in the Perth Test, like what Bumrah did. The Indian bowlers have not really used the pink ball as well as they should have.”

Also, adding to this, Aussie great Matthew Hayden spoke about how Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland came out on top

“He has that scrambled seam delivery that goes across the right-hander, but when he does have that ability – which he did – I must admit I was a little surprised. I’ve never really seen the pink ball swing into the sort of 40th over and so aggressively swing as well.

“By that stage, he used a really important word, and it’s a bit of an underrated word as well, and that’s ‘momentum’. It was all in favour of India.

“A difficult position to come back from in life and sport is those opportunities to wrestle back momentum, and Mitchell Starc did that in only the way he can – when the lights are like the way they are and with that beautiful-coloured ball in his hand. He’s just a magician with the pink ball.” Having reduced the visitors to 82 for four at tea, Australia took the remaining six wickets at the cost of 98 runs before dinner break was taken.