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Former India head coach Ravi Shastri criticised skipper Rohit Sharma's tactics that led to hosts leaking 54 runs from last nine overs in third session. Shastri feels that Rohit should have considered that his fast bowlers Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami were tired after toiling hard in the heat at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
“I think India lost the plot last night. Taking the new ball was not the right thing to do considering Umesh is 35, Shami is not getting any younger. They had bowled a lot. They were getting tired. A shorter burst with two overs is fine. But taking the new ball as early as that let Australia get away,” Shastri said while commentating on Day of the fourth Test which is crucial in India’s chances of qualifying for World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Before the new ball was taken Khawaja was batting on 88 whereas Green was on 12. As soon as Yadav was handed the new ball, he went for 12 runs including two boundaries as Green got value for his shots. Green attacked Shami as well before Rohit brought Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja into the attack. The pacers conceded 34 runs from just four overs. At the end of Day 1's play, Green was just one run away from his half-century.
“As a captain, things have moved fast during his tenure. He has been captaining on turning tracks where things get over in three days. So, this is a big learning curve. When you play on a surface like this where wickets are hard to come, the batting is good. As a captain, you've got to put your thinking cap on, and marshall your resources. It's one thing captaining in India, one thing captaining overseas and one thing captaining in India on good tracks like these. He has all the skills, this is the exposure that he needs,” the 60-year-old stated.
Khawaja and Green shared a 208-run partnership, the highest fifth-wicket partnership by an Australian player in India. Khawaja scored 180 whereas Green went on to score his maiden Test ton. They helped Australia post 480 on the board.
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