Former Australia wicketkeeper batsman, Adam Gilchrist, urged Indian opener Prithvi Shaw to up his game if the tourists are to bounce back from their painful collapse and defeat in the first Test in Adelaide.
Gilchrist recognised Shaw being dismissed for 0 & 4 as key moments in the match as they gave the Australians early momentum into their bowling innings and also the confidence to build further inroads into the Indian batting.
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"In both innings, Prithvi Shaw’s early dismissal put the team on the back foot," Gilchrist wrote in his column for Mid-Day. "Shaw was part of the team during the last India series here, and there has been plenty of hype and build-up around the youngster."
"This has also meant that his technique has been scrutinised and there was a clear plan to exploit the gap between his bat and pad that is a matter of concern for the youngster," he added.
Bowled on both occasions, Shaw's technical acumen has fallen under the scanner of the world, leaving the selectors and the management also with a dilemma whether to leave him out for the next Test in Melbourne starting December 26 or back him for at least one more game.
"Shaw has also been prone to expansive shots which might backfire in Australian conditions, because he will be liable to edging one to gully," wrote Gilchrist. "While he is a talented youngster, his performance will put the selectors in a dilemma as they plan for the Boxing Day Test."
Looking back at the Test, Gilchrist felt the quality defensive batsmanship which skipper Virat Kohli and No.3 Cheteshwar Pujara exhibited in the first innings is something the Indians needed in the second half too if they were to withstand the Aussie onslaught.
"Looking back at the first innings, I would think that the seemingly slow batting from Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli was, in fact superb defensive batting. That was what India failed to replicate in the second innings," Gilchrist wrote.
"In the first innings it had seemed that India were not looking for scoring opportunities, but Kohli’s masterclass of concentration alongside Pujara and later Ajinkya Rahane is what ensured that India reached 244."
