'The sun was out and even the grass did not exist': Gavaskar explains what India were 'lacking' on Day 6 of WTC final
On the best day to bat, India folded like a pack of cards and the same was highlighted by former captain Sunil Gavaskar, who feels that had the Indian team shown a bit of steadiness in their batting, the outcome of the match could have been something entirely different.
By the end of Day 5 of the World Test Championship final, two results seemed possible. A draw and a New Zealand win. With India finishing the day at 64/2, it seemed as if the WTC title would end up getting shared, but those plans changed following a batting implosion from India. They were bowled out for 170 in their second innings and New Zealand ended up chasing down 139 to win the match by eight wickets.
In the last three knockout matches of ICC events, it is the batting that has led India down. First the 2017 Champions Trophy, then the 2019 World Cup semi-final and now the WTC. On the best day to bat, India folded like a pack of cards and the same was highlighted by former captain Sunil Gavaskar, who feels that had the Indian team shown a bit of steadiness in their batting, the outcome of the match could have been something entirely different.
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"In batting, the patience that is needed for Test cricket, for five days, we saw it slightly lacking. And because of that, there was a willingness to play shots and that’s what got our batsmen out. When the ball is not moving in air or off the pitch, you can reach the pitch of the ball and play shots. But when there is movement, you need to bit a bit patient. And had we shown it, the result could have been something else," Gavaskar said on Sports Tak.
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While Gavaskar realised that the first four days weren't ideal for batting, the final day was, and it could have been a golden opportunity for India to walk away with a draw. But instead, the lure of scoring runs got to them and the team lost eight wickets for 106 runs with Rishabh Pant's 41 being the highest individual score of the innings.
"I'm talking about the batting on the final day. For the first four days, batting was very tough. You bring any batsman to play, and he would have had a tough time. But when on the final day, the sun was out, and even the grass did not exist. Yet everyone tried to play their shots and we lost eight wickets," Gavaskar added.
