Wasim Jaffer, the former India cricketer, has shared his thoughts on Indian batters' lackluster performance in the ongoing day-night Test against Sri Lanka at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Apart from Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant, no other Indian batter scored fifty or more in the second Test of the series. Mayank Agarwal, Jaffer believes, will be disappointed with himself after getting good starts in this series but failing to convert them into big scores.
“A few of the top-order [batters] will be unhappy that they couldn’t convert those starts into something big. I can understand it’s not the pitch where you’ll get big hundreds but somebody like Mayank will be unhappy that he got starts and then got out," Jaffer said on ESPNcricinfo.
Mayank scored 59 runs in three innings against Sri Lanka, with an average of 19.67. The opener scored 4 and 22 on a turning track in the day-night Test.
While Jaffer believes former India captain Virat Kohli was unlucky to be dismissed on unusual deliveries. The ball didn't bounce much on both occasions in Bengaluru, and Kohli was dismissed leg before wicket while defending from the backfoot.
“Virat, obviously, is not the same player; he’s been unlucky a couple of times…" he added.
Kohli's 71st international century was not on the cards, according to the former India opener, but he could have scored a fifty.
He added, “When you have a career like him, you are bound to get such deliveries but I hope, you know, it levels out very soon. We were hoping like always that the 71st hundred will come soon. This is again not the pitch for the 71st hundred but you would have liked to see him get at least 50-60. But, like I said, when you have such a big career, you are bound to get a few dismissals like that. Hopefully, not many more in the future."
He went on to say how different the two teams are, and how he believes the Indian team is superior to the visitors.
“The quality of the sides - you know, the Indian team is far, far strong compared to this Sri Lankan side. There are a lot of youngsters in this (Sri Lankan) side and they’ll learn. It’s a tough place to tour, Indian and it won’t be easy. This Indian team will never give it easy whether it’s batting or bowling…" he added.
(ESPNcricinfo inputs)
