India have been criticised for their failure to give Australia a fight in the World Test Championship (WTC) final, which Rahul Dravid's side lost by 209 runs at The Oval in London on Sunday, June 11. Chasing 444 for victory in the second innings was always going to be tough, but India's capitulation when it mattered left many surprised.
Among the many who were infuriated by India's batting performance, was former England captain Nasser Hussain. He said that the top-order should learn to play swing and seam from people like New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.
“Really disappointed with the Indian batters, their fans might come after me for saying this but I think the Indian top order needs to look at Kane on how to play the pacers when the ball is moving around. Both of them do it so late,” he said on Sky Sports.
Australian pacer Scott Boland and spinner Nathan Lyon shone took seven wickets between them as Boland dismissed both Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja in the same over. Eventually, India lost seven wickets in just 70 runs, as Australia wrapped up the match in the first session of Day 5.
Some of India's best players over the years failed to find their best form when it mattered. Ajinkya Rahane, who was returning to the Test setup after 18 months, was India's highest run-getter, and the only batter who managed to hit 100 runs across two innings.
Skipper Rohit Sharma only managed 58 (15 & 43), Cheteshwar Pujara only hit 31 (14 & 27) and Virat Kohli could only score 63 (14 & 49).
Australia were better prepared for the final, with stalwarts Travis Head and Steve Smith hitting centuries in the first innings. Their contribution effectively ended India's chances as they were unable to bounce back from the mammoth total of 469 that Australia reached in the first innings.
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