
Legendary spinner Anil Kumble was left furious with India’s reckless batting on a flat track during the first session of third day’s play in the second Test against South Africa at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati.
Resuming their innings from 9/0, the hosts lost Yashasvi Jaiswal (58), KL Rahul (22), Sai Sudharsan (15) and Dhruv Jurel (0) in the morning session, going to Tea break on 102/4 and trailing the Proteas by 387 runs.
The poor shot selections from Indian batters were questioned by Kumble, who particularly slammed Sudharsan and Jurel for throwing away their wickets.
“It was disappointing. First one hour, they batted very well. KL Rahul got a very good ball that bounced on him. After that, I thought they would go to break being one down. Dhruv Jurel and Sai Sudharsan, those dismissals, I think they (shots) were half-hearted. Four wickets down. Yesterday, only four wickets fell. It was very disappointing,” Kumble said on JioStar's 'Cricket Live' show.
“They (South African spinners) slowed it down as compared to Indian spinners…Indian spinners were around 90 kph (South African spinners were bowling around 80kph). It is also not just about slowing down the ball, but it needs to go over the bat,” he added.
On a pitch where South Africa’s lower-order ruled the roost, Kumble believes showing some patience and playing with a straight bat would be enough to do well.
“This is something Indian batters would have to be careful about when they come out to bat in the second session. It’s not about survival. Play with straight hands and runs will come,” Kumble remarked.
At the start of the second session, India also the key wicket of stand-in skipper Rishabh Pant (7), followed by cheap dismissals of Nitish Kumar Reddy (10) and Ravindra Jadeja (6) to found themselves reeling at 122/7.
Having lost the opening Test in Kolkata by 30 runs, India are facing a must win situation in Guwahati to avoid another series loss at home after the humiliating 0-3 whitewash against New Zealand last year.
