India's wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik and commentator Harsha Bhogle engaged in a discussion regarding Team India's struggle to achieve high totals exceeding 400 and 500 runs in Test matches. The ongoing five-match Test series between India and England is currently tied at 1-1, with India bouncing back strongly to win the second Test in Visakhapatnam by 106 runs after losing the first in Hyderabad.
During their conversation on Cricbuzz, Bhogle queried Karthik about the inability of Indian batters to bat for extended periods in home conditions. It has been a considerable duration since India posted imposing totals, particularly against teams like Australia and England, even during the 2021 tour. Karthik delved deeper into this issue, providing insights into the challenges faced by Indian batters.
It’s a mental issue here: Dinesh Karthik
“First things first, I wouldn’t put it as a worry only because if they were getting out technically and you don’t have time to improve on that then it becomes a problem. I think it’s a mental issue here their coach is one of the greatest examples of what it means to play long and do all of that so I’m sure that he is giving them advice and at a point a little frustrated as well. He and Vikram Rathour might be thinking why are we collapsing and losing wickets in heaps in Test cricket?” Karthik said on CricBuzz.
“Definitely a point for them to ponder about, I don’t want to use the word worry because I would be worried if they were not batting well. They are getting set, they are playing and then they are giving away wickets to balls which they definitely shouldn’t be,” he added.
Karthik discussed how many players in the current Test squad have extensive experience in white-ball cricket, leading to a wide range of shots at their disposal. He noted that along with a variety of shots comes a higher risk of dismissals, but expressed skepticism regarding the soft dismissals Indian batters were experiencing against the flow of the game.
“The one thing that we need to understand, is a lot of these players play white-ball cricket hence they have a lot more strokes, so they will play a lot more shots, and with shot-making comes the natural fact that you will get dismissed a lot more. Understandable, but for me they are getting out to soft dismissals as they call it you know the things they call against the run of play nothing much happening, falling to the fields of play. Overall, yes they are a team that is capable of putting 450/3 or 500/5 sort of scores but they are not doing anything close to that”, the 38-year-old added.
India and England lock horns in the third Test of their five-match series at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. This presents a crucial opportunity for both teams to gain an advantage in the series. The current series is tied at 1-1, with India recovering to secure victory in the second Test in Vizag after losing the series opener in Hyderabad.
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