India vs Australia: Sourav Ganguly has an important message for Virat Kohli and boys

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByHT Correspondent

Dec 21, 2018 09:02 AM IST

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India vs Australia: The former India captain was not very happy with the repeated failures of the Indian batting order and said that despite touring the side back in 2014, the batsmen have not shown any signs of improvement.

Nathan Lyon has had a good run against India in the recent past and even in the Perth Test, where the conditions were ripe for seam bowlers, the off-spinner bamboozled the Indian batting line-up. He walked away with the man of the match for his efforts.

India's Virat Kohli walks off after being dismissed during play in the second cricket test between Australia and India in Perth, Australia, Monday, December 17, 2018(AP)

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has asked Virat Kohli and company to come up with a more aggressive plan against Lyon and aim not to give him any wickets in the upcoming matches.

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“I had thought of sending a text to Kohli but I haven’t done it yet. I wanted to tell him that you shouldn’t give so many wickets to spinners outside the subcontinent. There is no doubt that Nathan Lyon is a great spinner but so were Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Graeme Swann,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by India TV.

“They have shown him too much respect by defending a lot of deliveries outside the off-stump. Instead, I feel they should attack him more and look to build towards at least a total in excess of 300-350,” he added.

The former Indian captain was not very happy with the repeated failures of the Indian batting order and said that despite touring the side back in 2014, the batsmen have not shown any signs of improvement.

ALSO READ: ‘Still two Tests to go’ - Sourav Ganguly warns detractors of Virat Kohli and boys

“For all of India’s top order batsmen, this is not their first tour to Australia. They have been there before. Logically their game should improve over the years but from what we saw in Perth, it is difficult to say it has. Barring Kohli and (Cheteshwar) Pujara, none of them are making a lot of runs and this is not good for the team. If India have to win, they will have to do a lot more,” Ganguly said.

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