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‘Give the man respect’: Gavaskar's message to Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli on tackling Mitchell Starc
Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who has tackled many such menacing spells of fast bowlers around the world, advised Rohit, Kohli and others to "give respect" to Starc.
Mitchell Starc has been all over the Indian top-order in the ODI series. In the first ODI in Mumbai, he dismissed Shubman Gill for 20, Virat Kohli for 4, and Suryakumar Yadav for a golden duck. If it wasn't for an unbroken century stand between KL Rahul (75*) and Ravindra Jadeja (45*) for the sixth wicket then Australia would have defended the 188-run total. There was no change in the script as far as Starc is concerned in the second ODI in Thiruvananthapuram. The lanky left-arm quick once again ran through the Indian batting order. This time, he dismissed Gill (0), Rohit Sharma (13), who returned after missing the series opener due to personal reasons, Suryakumar (0), and KL Rahul (9) in his first spell. Starc then came back to clean up Mohammed Siraj to complete a five-wicket haul and bowl India out for 117. Australia won the match by 10 wickets and drew level in the series.
Be it Rohit or Kohli. Gill or KL Rahul. The Indian batting-order's weakness against a left-arm seamer who brings the ball back into the stumps is a common thread. India have struggled against Trent Boult, Shaheen Shah Afridi and now Starc.
Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, who has tackled many such menacing spells of fast bowlers around the world, advised Rohit, Kohli and others to "give respect" to Starc. Gavaskar said when a bowler is in that kind of rhythm, it is better to just play him out quietly, instead of looking to score.
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"Give the man respect. He has been moving the ball both ways. He has destroyed the Indian top-order. So give him those three-four overs, play him quietly. Be patient, nudge it around, look to score at the other end. When a man is bowling so well and he has not even bowled a no-ball. A fast bowler bowling that occasional no-ball while striving for that extra pace is understandable but he hasn't even done that so give him respect when he is on song, play him out and score from others," Gavaskar said in the mid-innings show on Star Sports during the third ODI in Chennai.
Notably, Gill, in both the ODIs, was out caught in point while trying to steer a wide pitched-up Starc delivery. Rohit too was guilty of chasing a wide one in the second ODI.
Gill and Rohit, however got India off to the perfect start in the series decider on Wednesday. They did not exactly look to play out Starc like Gavaskar advised while chasing 270 for victory. But there was a noticeable change in how Gill batted. Instead of looking to play the square drive to Starc, Gill got bigger strides out and punched Starc straighter, between cover and mid-on.
Rohit too played Starc much straighter and hit him for a six over long-off.
Earlier, three wickets apiece from Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav helped India bowl Australia out for 269 in 49 overs. Pandya (3-44) and left-arm spinner Yadav (3-56) put a brake on the tourists' early momentum.
In-form openers Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh had by the eighth over made 10 boundaries between them, including three sixes, and looked set for a commanding partnership after Australia elected to bat first.
But Pandya took three quick wickets -- Head on 33, Smith for a duck and Marsh on 47 -- to leave Australia worried at 85-3 by the 15th over.
Yadav toppled the middle-order beginning with David Warner, who made 23 on return from the elbow fracture that forced him out of the second Test in February.
Marnus Labuschagne (28) was next but Alex Carey stubbornly held on for another 10 overs before his departure on 38.
