AUS v IND 2018-19: Sunil Gavaskar bemoans India's irresponsible shot selection on Day 1 at Adelaide

India finished the day on 250/9 after Pujara's 123.

Rohit Sharma played an absolutely reckless shot to get out | Getty

Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar is extremely critical of India's over-aggressive approach while batting on Day 1 of the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia at Adelaide.

Gavaskar pointed out the lazy poke outside the off-stump, trying which the likes of Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane gave away their wickets to the Australians on a platter, and termed it nothing but irresponsible "flashy stuff" in disguise of shot-making.

Gavaskar's comments come in wake of India being reduced to 56/4 at the lunch interval, despite getting the chance to bat first on a flat surface.

"That [poor outside the off-stump] is an understatement. They [India batsmen] were just reaching out for deliveries which they could have very well left alone. The only exception may be KL Rahul but all the others played shots that they could have avoided," Gavaskar told Sony Six on Thursday, December 6. 

"It was the first session of a five-day Test match, a five-day Test match and you had all the time in the world to build a good total. You know that the Kookaburra ball swings around only for maybe a dozen overs or so."

"You can then cash in, capitalize and score plenty of runs. But everybody was like 'I have to get my runs in this session'. And if these players had been newcomers, understandable but these are all experienced players who played those shots outside the off-stump," he added.

Ajinkya Rahane got out to an extremely bad shot outside off stump | GettyThe 69-year-old also brought scrutiny over the team management and questioned the kind of input it is providing for each individual out there.

"If that's been the discussion in the dressing room - let's be aggressive, let us go after the bowlers, then it's the wrong approach," he reaffirmed, "At the start of the series of the series, that's definitely a wrong approach. A lot of people, including Australians, have been saying India are the favorites."

"So the pressure was on the Australians, so it was an opportunity to try and bat sensibly. Look at what Pujara is doing, batting sensibly and well within his limits and not trying anything flashy. These guys have got out, trying something flashy."

Before lavishing words of praise over hosts' planning against the might of Virat Kohli, who succumbed to a disappointing flash outside off for just 3.

"Very good planning because that's what they've seen with Virat. He has not left a single delivery. This one was way outside the off-stump, almost on the seventh stump. Look how much he has reached for it. He knows he shouldn't have done that. It wasn't even a half-volley but he was trying to play that on the up," Gavaskar concluded.

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 06 Dec, 2018

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