The third session on the second day of the final Test between Australia and India was lost to rain at the Gabba. The eagerness of the hosts to get back on the field was visible with skipper Tim Paine constantly speaking to the match officials, but it wasn’t to be as a wet outfield saw the umpires call for an early end to the day’s proceedings.
A frustrating evening at the Gabba. Play is scheduled to begin at 9:30am local time tomorrow.
Scorecard: https://t.co/qvYTMSiZsl #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/N5HAqz3Yyv
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 16, 2021
At stumps, India’s score read 62/2 and the visitors still trail by 307 runs with eight wickets in the bag. Cheteshwar Pujara (8) and Ajinkya Rahane (2) will need to start afresh on Sunday and with Nathan Lyon sending the dangerous-looking Rohit Sharma (44) back to the hut before the tea break, the hosts definitely hold a slight edge.
Former skipper Sunil Gavaskar on Saturday did not hold back on his criticism and said that there is no excuse for Rohit to be playing that kind of shot.
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Rohit played a knock of 44 runs in the first innings of the fourth Test, but in trying to hit a six, Rohit ended up gifting his wicket to off-spinner Nathan Lyon. “Why? Why? Why? That is an unbelievable shot. That’s an irresponsible shot. There is a fielder at long-on, there is a fielder there at deep square leg. You have just hit a boundary a couple of balls earlier, why would you play that shot? You are a senior player, there is no excuse, absolutely no excuse for that shot. An unnecessary wicket, gifted away. Total unnecessary,” said Gavaskar while commentating for Channel 7.
Nathan Lyon’s 397th Test wicket seemed to come out of nowhere and the Aussies were pumped! #OhWhatAFeeling #AUSvIND | @Toyota_Aus pic.twitter.com/rIhl4ZjbTu
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 16, 2021
Rohit Sharma on his dismissal in the first innings at the Gabba Test.#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/aIReacNKmP
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 16, 2021
India Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday said that pacer T Natarajan understands his bowling and it is something that the Indian line-up really needs.
India had bundled out Australia for 369 in the first innings as Shardul Thakur, T Natarajan and Washington Sundar scalped three wickets each. Natarajan had taken the wickets of Matthew Wade, Marnus Labuschagne, and Josh Hazlewood. “Natarajan is a bright prospect for us, he showed a lot of discipline when he played for India in the white-ball format. He was coming off a good IPL and he carried that confidence into the white-ball series against Australia. Then to have a Test match like that, the first spell he bowled was very accurate, if I have to judge,” said Rohit during the virtual press conference.