Ravichandran Ashwin attacks Shubman Gill-led India batsmen amid England ambush
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With the second test at Edgbaston about to begin today, former Indian veteran Ravichandran Ashwin takes a dig at the Indian top-order batters demanding more accountability.
This came as India lost the Headingley test despite scoring a 450+ total in the first innings and a decent 371-run target in the last innings of play. However, India lost the match by 5 wickets to England.
Ravichandran Ashwin has reasoned that despite 5 hundreds from the Indian top-order batters at Leeds across two innings, none of the batters could bat deep down and take the innings forward. He has urged them to bat deeper and take the innings further, reducing the dependence on the lower order.
Ravichandran Ashwin backs Indian tailenders for batting performance
“Batters should take up responsibility. I know batsmen are making runs. Yes, we had five centurions, but where are the daddy hundreds? We have to resign to the fact that there would be no contribution (with the bat) from the lower order. Our fast bowlers cannot bat, they cannot muster runs,” claimed Ashwin.
Though this claim seems a bit blunt, as the Indian top-order batters did a fairly good job building onto vital partnerships, however, the sudden collapse from the Indian tailenders made the Indian innings look extremely fragile from a game point of view.
If not many runs, the lower order should contribute something to the pile of runs already put on the scoreboard by the frontline batters. And with the presence of Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, and Shardul Thakur on the side, the collapses gathered immense criticism.
Ravichandran Ashwin wants Indian bowlers to bowl tighter
Ravichandran Ashwin from his YouTube channel did not limit his frustration to the batting department, but the bowling deck also took a blow from it. With only Jasprit Bumrah able to control the English batters to an extent in the first innings, the other Indian bowlers looked like toddlers to the English batting unit as they played with their variability.
Ravichandran Ashwin stressed the fact that support bowlers should not only look to complement Jasprit Bumrah but also work on their economy, as leaking runs from one end is never going to help in choking the flow of runs of the opposition.
“In Tests, I think maidens are quite underrated. Ideally, I would be okay with Bumrah going for a higher economy rate, but others should go low."
"I saw a show where someone said Siraj was unlucky to not be among wickets. I do agree he bowled well in the second innings, but the economy rate, you can't let go and hope that things fall in place,” added Ashwin.
India to bring in Washington Sundar for the Second Test
Though nothing has been confirmed as of yet, speculation suggests that India might look to drop Sai Sudharsan, the debutant for the second test, to bring in all-rounder Washington Sundar into the playing 11.
Sundar's arrival would also indicate that Karun Nair is promoted up the order to his favorite spot of no. 3, where he is expected to find some form. Sundar, alongside him, brings in the option for an additional spinner, and test experience of 9 matches, 468 runs, 25 wickets, and a batting average of 42.54.
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Tagged:
England National Cricket Team Ravichandran Ashwin Shubman Gill Yashasvi Jaiswal Rishabh Pant KL Rahul India vs England India National Cricket Team ICC World Test Championship England vs India
