Adelaide Test of the ongoing 2020-21 India tour of Australia was the lowest point for the visitors after they were restricted to their lowest Test score ever of 36 in the second innings of the match. India went onto lose the match by 8 wickets, despite looking in command after gaining a 53-run lead.
As preparations for the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is underway without Virat Kohli, India batting great and cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar has said that the only way out for the Indian team is to "fight it out" and do "something magnificent" in the remaining three matches.
He also asked the whole team to be positive in their thinking and let the debacle of Adelaide not haunt them in coming matches. He also felt that India should have started the tour with T20Is, then ODIs, and then Tests with the pink-ball Test being the last of the series.
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“According to me the ideal transition would have been that after the IPL you go to Australia and start with the T20 series, ODIs, and then the Test series with the red ball (regular Test match timings), and the last match being with the pink ball (adapting to pink-ball Test match timings) that one is not so used to. By playing red-ball Test matches first, the transition would have been smoother to pink-ball Test,” Tendulkar told IANS.
Talking about Indian batsmen’s shortcomings in the second innings in Adelaide, Tendulkar said, “One change that one can talk about was getting a nice, big stride forward, which I felt was missing. A half and half defence (short stride) can always trouble you and if there's a little more movement off the seam then your hands tend to compensate for the lack of footwork. If you get a nice stride forward while defending then your hands stay close to your body.”
Tendulkar also opined on whether India missed Ravindra Jadeja in Adelaide and said, “When we talk about Ashwin and Jadeja, it boils down to whose bowling on a particular pitch would be more useful and then you pick that bowler. Their batting is an added bonus; both can bat. I'm sure the team management must be looking at their bowling ability and picking and not worrying too much about how many runs they would contribute at No.8.”
Sachin was all praises for Indian bowlers saying, “I thought their performance was very good, without any doubt. In the first innings, it was extremely disciplined and focused; and they kept the pressure on.”
(IANS inputs)
