[It's Magic]

Originally Posted by NPV

I’m still hoping Pant and Nitish will get at least 150 more runs and take the fight to the Aussie camp. I’d be happy if we went down fighting rather than a meek surrender.

I think we should request our bowlers to do more batting in the nets along with their practice routine. These days, we are depending more on bowlers to score some runs or save the day rather than the batsmen doing their job.

[Oxy]

I saw this drubbing coming. The amount of difference a good captain makes is astounding. Those who actually watched the game today instead of just following the scorecard will understand.

Rohit is on par with Dhoni when it comes to test match captaincy. Removing Bumrah/Nitish from the attack as soon as they take a wicket, spreading the field to make life easy for a new batsman who just came to the crease, pathetic bowling changes - I mean, moves that were devoid of any logic at all were on display today and it was really frustrating to watch.

Wrong selections too. Akashdeep should have played over Harshit Rana in this test. He consistently pitches it up and gets swing, such a bowler was badly missed today. And the less said about Ashwin the better, I think even Axar Patel is a better option with the ball and he bats better as well.

I hope Rohit goes back to opening the innings next game and switches on his ODI mode. That is the only way he has any hopes of scoring some runs. His defence is not tight enough and it makes him a walking wicket in this format.

And I don't know what Siraj was trying to achieve by giving a send off to Head. Bro, he just scored a match winning 140 off 141 balls, the joke is on you!

[PPS]

Originally Posted by Oxy

Wrong selections too. Akashdeep should have played over Harshit Rana in this test. He consistently pitches it up and gets swing,

AkashDeep did not impress in the 2 day practice game! I agree about his lengths & swing. Infact Mukesh Kumar or AkashDeep should have been our 3rd seamer all along considering they're experienced campaigners at the domestic level but due to Gambhir being the Coach, Rana was preferred. He may bowl an odd good spell but he'll spray the ball around considering the alien conditions.

I hope Rohit goes back to opening the innings next game and switches on his ODI mode. That is the only way he has any hopes of scoring some runs. His defence is not tight enough and it makes him a walking wicket in this format.

Rohit was struggling against Southee & Co. at home! What makes you think he'll score runs against this famed Australian bowling lineup in their backyard? About his ODI mode, quickfire 20s & 30s won't win us any Tests. He just has to see the opening partnership of Jaiswal-KL in the 2nd innings of the previous Test. Rohit is looking listless & just does not look tuned in!

[Emvi]

Originally Posted by Oxy

And I don't know what Siraj was trying to achieve by giving a send off to Head. Bro, he just scored a match winning 140 off 141 balls, the joke is on you!

For me, it doesn't matter if the batsman is dismissed for 140 or for a duck. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of such antics on the cricket field. However, in this particular instance, I think Siraj has received excessive criticism, which I believe is undue, from a lot of people, including Mr. Gavaskar, surprisingly. Let me explain why I think it was unjustified.

Head had smoked the previous ball for a six before his stumps were rattled by Siraj’s full-length delivery. Siraj let out a massive cry, which most bowlers do, to which I believe Head snapped back with typical Australian expletives. This seemed to stir Siraj further, and he continued waving his arms aggressively and likely foul-mouthing the batsman. I’m concluding this after watching the replays several times back to back. This is not the first time a bowler has acted like this, and it won’t be the last. And as we all know, Aussies are hardly saints when it comes to sledging.

P.S - I'm not justifying his actions in any way.

[avingodb]

Frankly, I was expecting this to happen in Adelaide, irrespective of the result of the first test. The lack of fight when things start to go bad is really worrying.

I just hope they manage to stretch it to the fourth day now.

[Oxy]

Originally Posted by PPS

Rohit was struggling against Southee & Co. at home! What makes you think he'll score runs against this famed Australian bowling lineup in their backyard? About his ODI mode, quickfire 20s & 30s won't win us any Tests. He just has to see the opening partnership of Jaiswal-KL in the 2nd innings of the previous Test. Rohit is looking listless & just does not look tuned in!

In the ideal world, Rohit won't even be in the test playing eleven, let alone be the captain. He is literally a walking wicket because his defence is extremely weak. Also, he doesn't know how to leave good balls.

But since he is unfortunately there, the most ideal way to maximize his contribution is to ask him to bat aggressive. That is anyday better than him prodding around for 25 balls, scoring 2 runs during that time and getting out tamely.

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Ashwin And Jadeja did outscore Rohit and Virat in both innings.

Normal service has resumed. Ashwin has outscored Rohit Sharma again both innings.

Across both innings:
Rohit + Virat = 27 Runs
Ashwin = 29 runs.

[NomadSK]

Starc & Cummins bowling with plans to uproot indian wickets !!

Got Ashwin caught behind with 3 bouncers on trot and finally got him. Why was he even planning to hook.

What was Reddy thinking to give strike to Rana of the first ball of Cummins, when they were bowling him short to dislodge him.

Simply poor cricketing sense displayed by Indian batters. Loved what Gavaskar said yesterday, some of the shots displayed by Indian batsmen were only possible due to backing of IPL contracts.

Love their bowling when they have plans for each batter !!

Silver lining - saved from embarrassing innings defeat.

[deehunk]

What we have seen of Indian cricket since 2019 is the reluctance of senior players to accept the reality and make way for youngsters. We saw a struggling Dhoni in the 2019 WC, and not ready to quit, now it is Rohit and Kohli just wasting their time on the ground. That's why greats quit at their peak; if Rohit and Kohli had some shame left in them, they would have quit after the 2023 WC Final debacle.

[Revvatron]

Originally Posted by Emvi

For me, it doesn't matter if the batsman is dismissed for 140 or for a duck. Generally speaking, I'm not a fan of such antics on the cricket field.

Usually am not a fan too but it's been a while I have seen crowd getting involved like that so am loving it. Because of IPL we have seen players being friendly laughing together. I have personally missed the old school into your face and crowd getting on it too. This is what made Virat's earlier tours so memorable when crowd was booing and he responded with centuries.

Regarding Siraj he would have done that even if Head had not hit him for six. He will celebrate like that even if team is loosing. Nothing wrong with it but comes off as funny. I remember in the latest IPL he was trolled because he did Ronaldo's Siuuu celebration when the opposition(RR or Punjab) needed 10 off 25 something like that

[Oxy]

Normalcy has resumed as soon as Rohit is back at the helm. We are back to losing test matches within 2.5 days. What a pathetic meek surrender after that incredible win at Perth!

I doubt we will recover from this. Brace yourselves for 1-4.

[AtheK]

Rohit Sharma finally hits a century in test arena, just that it took him 8 innigs to get there. No shame or accountability.

You take away the 100 by kohli in last match, he also has a total of 116 runs in 9 innings. The 100 also came after openers gave a very good foundation and tired out the bowlers.

The ex-hitman and ex-king can't play pace or spin, can only play PR game.

Nitish reddy has outscored both of them with 162 runs in 4 innings in overseas condition. He could have scored more had he got an option to play with a settled batsman and not managing the tail.

[Rahkehs]

Nitish Reddy seems such a compact player, has good defence as well as attacking shots. He should be batting at 4 instead of Kohli.

[Oxy]

You know things are bad when your highest scorer in both the innings is Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Why is Ashwin in the team? Was he not badly exposed in the home series against NZ which we lost 3-0? Even in absolute rank turners her did not get wickets.

Why did Akashdeep not play over Harshit Rana?

Why did Rohit return as captain to ruin what was going so well? From almost a 300 run victory in Perth to almost an innings defeat here - how did such a massive turnaround happen?

Why does our batting collapse time and again even on good batting pitches? When will the batting coach and Gambhir be held accountable?

[PPS]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

Silver lining - saved from embarrassing innings defeat.

The best thing about this Pink ball Test was that it got over early on Day 3! And our bowlers especially Bumrah didn't have to do a lot of bowling & they get an extra few days rest.

Originally Posted by deehunk

What we have seen of Indian cricket since 2019 is the reluctance of senior players to accept the reality and make way for youngsters. We saw a struggling Dhoni in the 2019 WC, and not ready to quit, now it is Rohit and Kohli just wasting their time on the ground.

BCCI should have encouraged Rohit to take this entire tour off to spend time with his newborn especially considering his poor form & listless captaincy!

Originally Posted by AtheK

Nitish reddy has outscored both of them with 162 runs in 4 innings in overseas condition.

Reddy has been the surprise package on this tour so far. Seems to have a decent technique & very good temperament. If he can bowl 10 overs regularly, he can be a handy option on SENA tours.