Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif slams Indian cricket team for losing the World Test Championship 2021-23 Final game against Australia.
Kaif Slams Indian cricket team
World Test Championship 2023 final is scheduled to play from June 7 to 11 in Kennington Oval, London between India and Australia.
“These things must be sorted out before you take the field. You can’t miss these chances. This is being lazy. In these moments, the fielder probably thinks there won’t be catches coming to slips, and there might be a declaration on the cards. But it was a vital stage of the game when India couldn’t afford lapses,” Kaif told The IE.
Kaif also threw light on the first innings, where Steve Smith had played a shot towards the slip and it landed a few inches before Kohli.
“Converting half-chances can win you matches. Take a look at the half-chance that Steve Smith had offered in the first innings when the ball fell short of Kohli at slip. Australia were at 190, and if Smith had fallen then, who knows what might have happened,” said Kaif.
“In England and Australia where there is bounce on offer, slips stand almost 25 yards behind the stumps. In Asia, you stand nearer to the batter. So, someone like Kohli must know where he needs to stand so that he takes these chances. These are ways in which you can win games for your team,” he added.
Winning the toss, India opted to bowl first and that too particularly without the world’s top-ranked Test bowler – spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
With Australia 76/3 at one stage it looked as if India’s selection could be the right one. But an unbroken 251-run stand between Head and Smith helped Australia to 469 at the close, leaving India on the back foot in the game.
Earlier, Bowling coach Paras Mhambrey backs Indian bowlers after an unimpressive first day in WTC 2023 final and explains the reason for the exclusion of Ashwin from the playing 11.
Though Mhambrey makes a statement regarding Ashwin’s exclusion, many cricket experts including Sachin Tendulkar slam the Indian selection committee for their decision to play without Ashwin.
The Australian bowling attack came out strong against India in the first inning, reducing India to 151-5 by stumps on day two. Pat Cummins drew first blood by removing Rohit Sharma, while Scott Boland and Cameron Green showcased their skills to dismiss Shubman Gill and Chiteshwar Pujara, respectively.
Rohit Sharma who opened the inning along with Gill failed to make an impact in India’s 1st inning. Rohit lost his wicket for 15 runs in the 6th over bowled by Pat Cummins.
The left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc generated extra bounce to dismiss Virat Kohli for 14 runs while Lyon dismissed Jadeja for 48 runs. India ended up scoring 269 runs in their first innings.
Australia scored 270 runs in their second inning and declared the match. India’s top-order batters once again failed to score big and ended up the inning with a score of 234 and lost the game by 209 runs.
This is the second time where India loses the WTC Final. In the first edition, India loses the trophy to New Zealand; in the second edition, India loses the trophy to Australia.
READ: WTC 2023 Final: ICC Fines Shubman Gill For Breaching Code of Conduct
