"Rishabh Pant And Rohit Sharma Need To Play The Game That Has Got Them To The Test Level" - Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian opener-turned commentator Sunil Gavaskar has urged the duo of Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant to play their natural game during India’s run-chase of 328 on the final day of the Brisbane Test.

However, he urged the duo to be a bit cautious in their shot-selection. India will enter the final day of the Gabba Test, needing a further 324 runs to win the match as well as the series.

“They need to play the game that has got them to the Test level. They just need to be a little careful about their shot selection because it is about the red ball. Both the seam bowlers and the spinners get a little more help with the red ball as compared to the white ball. They need to keep that in mind and play shots accordingly,” said Sunil Gavaskar told Sony Sports.

Gavaskar further reckoned that India can even harbour thoughts of chasing down the total if the opening duo of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill get them off to a good start and Rishabh Pant plays the kind of knock that he did in the second innings of the Sydney Test.

“If we get a good start from Rohit and Shubman and after that Pujara and Rahane play a supporting role, then if Rishabh Pant plays a knock like he played in Sydney, we can reach close to a win,” he added.

India need 324 runs to win on Day 5 of the 4th Test.

Join us as an exciting day of Test cricket awaits.

Scorecard – https://t.co/bSiJ4wEymL #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/bPsCBzt9nM

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 18, 2021

 

‘They should play session by session’- Sunil Gavaskar

When asked about the likely mindset of the batsmen on a pitch that has a significant number of cracks, Sunil Gavaskar said that since there aren’t too many cracks on the good length area, it should not perturb batsmen much.

He, however, added that short-pitch deliveries, if they land on the cracks, could result in a variable bounce, which the Indians need to be wary of.

“The cracks are in the middle of the pitch. There are very few at the good length spot. There could be a problem if someone tries a bouncer and it hits the crack, it will not take that much bounce if it falls on the leather part but if it falls on the seam anything can happen. So, they will have to be careful of that while batting,” added Sunil Gavaskar.

The ‘Little Master’ signed off by saying that the Indian team will do well if they do not get ahead of themselves and approach the day on a session by session basis.

“But I would say they should play session by session. They should play according to the merit of the ball, whether to hit a four, take a single or defend it. They should not think too far ahead about playing 80-100 overs but just think how they are going to face the next ball. If they play like that, I feel they can even win this match,” he added.

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