- Thursday, December 12, 2024
Former spinner Harbhajan Singh feels India should try to play their best cricket to register a win at the ‘Gabba’ before travelling to more favourable venues in Sydney and Melbourne
By: Shajil Kumar
LEGENDARY batsman Sunil Gavaskar feels Australia will have the momentum in the third Test against India starting on Saturday in Brisbane, thanks to their victory in the Pink Ball Test at Adelaide last week.
Australia levelled the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-1 with a 10-wicket win in the day-night Test after losing the first Test at Perth by 295 runs.
“The momentum that the Indian team got in Perth was lost during the 10-day gap. Now, the momentum is with Australia because they have won this Test match,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.
“After the Adelaide Test, a few days later, you are playing at The Gabba. So, the momentum is now with the Australian team,” he added.
Speaking to the same channel, former spinner Harbhajan Singh said India should try to play their best cricket to register a win at the ‘Gabba’ before travelling to more favourable venues in Sydney and Melbourne.
“Their best chances will be, I think, in Sydney and Melbourne. Anyway, if you play your best cricket at The Gabba and win there, then you will definitely win one match out of Melbourne or Sydney,” Harbhajan said.
He said India have the ability to make a comeback into the series despite the heavy loss in Adelaide.
“The equality of the first two Tests shows that both teams have the ability to come back. Australia has come back; now maybe it’s India’s turn to turn the tables,” he said.
The owner of 711 international wickets too agreed that the long interval between the first and second Test resulted in India losing the momentum.
“This series is tough because both teams have had losses. What happened with Australia in Perth, maybe they didn’t expect it. And what happened with India in Adelaide, maybe India also didn’t expect it.
“Although there was a very long gap in the middle between the two Tests, sometimes such a gap spoils the momentum, and it happened here,” he said.
Kohli addresses team
He used to be the cynosure of all eyes at training sessions during his captaincy days and Virat Kohli was once again the centre of attention as he addressed his teammates here on Thursday.
After the demoralising defeat in Adelaide, the visitors needed a bit of inspiration going into the crucial third Test of the series.
The team huddles before the start of the training session has been a constant feature for years now and Kohli used to do a lot of talking during his days in charge.
He did take a back seat once he left captaincy but with skipper Rohit also under immense pressure after four straight defeats, the senior-most player (in terms of Test debut) had to take the initiative ahead of the match starting here on Saturday.
With vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah by his side, Kohli was seen speaking animatedly to the group and everyone, including Rohit, listened to him with rapt attention.
Will Rohit open the innings?
Unlike before the pink ball Test, Rohit looked in far better shape during his net session at the Gabba, but question marks remain over whether he would be back to opening the innings or stay put at No. 6, which isn’t his preferred slot.
On the day, while KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal once again faced the new ball at the nets, Rohit took on a slightly older Kookaburra at the beginning. Having faced that for some time, he did change nets with Rahul and also played a brand new red cherry for a while.
The Gabba pitch has a decent grass cover and has always been one of the most traditional Australian wickets with both seam and bounce being on offer. Rohit’s susceptibility has been against the moving deliveries more than bounce, and hence, it would be interesting to see if he takes on the challenge head on.
After his session, Rohit and head coach Gautam Gambhir were immersed in a lengthy chat and a from a distance, it looked like they were discussing technique. Gambhir was seen shaping up for some shadow drives, with Rohit watching him intently.
Shami ‘not fit’ for Tests
Mohammed Shami, whose presence was solicited by one and all, might not join the Indian team if it is entirely left to him.
Shami, who has played nine Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 games after his Ranji Trophy comeback, himself “feels” that he is not ready to take the rigours of red ball cricket right now.
“The swelling seems to come and go. He himself is keen on playing more and more domestic cricket and hence the possibility of him once again playing Vijay Hazare Trophy for Bengal (starting December 21) looks imminent at the moment.
“He can then bowl at least three spells and 10 overs per game,” a BCCI source told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
“Shami is at the business end of his career. What if his knee acts up badly in Australia after a long spell? He will have to field on hard grounds. He missed the last IPL due to ankle surgery.
“This time, he has a hefty Rs 10 crore deal with SRH. You can’t blame him if he wants to preserve himself for white ball format for now,” the source added.
Washington Sundar or Ashwin
Washington Sundar is the most technically equipped batter, Ravichandran Ashwin is the best spinner in terms of skills, and Ravindra Jadeja is easily the best package as an all-rounder, who can restrict the opposition with dart-board hitting accuracy besides being a very capable middle or lower middle-order batter.
Ashwin bowled well within himself at Adelaide and had Mohammed Siraj not messed up the aerial chance that Head offered off the off-spinner’s bowling when on 64, who knows what his figures would have read.
Back in the day at Gabba, the late Shane Warne used to be lethal and Nathan Lyon could be seen more as a restrictive option. (PTI)
