Former India wicketkeeper-batter Surinder Khanna lashed out at India’s approach in the fourth Test against Australia and called for ‘fair play’ from the visiting side following their 184-run defeat at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday. Chasing 340 on the final day of the match, Indian batters once again faltered against Australia’s bowling attack as the hosts took 2-1 lead in the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
During India’s chase, India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal’s dismissal became the hot topic of debate after third umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat overturned on-field umpire Joel Wilson’s decision without any conclusive evidence. Despite no disturbance on the Snickometer when the ball hit Jaiswal’s gloves, the video evidence, however, showed some deflection based on which third umpire made his decision.
The decision was not taken well by the Indian camp and also by former players as they criticised the technology for not fulfilling the purpose completely.
Meanwhile, Khanna had a different take on that and suggested ‘there’s no point in making controversy’. He advised Rohit Sharma-led team to play fair cricket first to change the result of the match.
“There is no point in making controversy, they’ve shown it from four angles that the ball hit the gloves and its pace also decreased before Alex Carey caught it behind the stumps. Akash Deep also complained of a similar thing when he was caught out. ‘Juthe log hai yeh (they are all liars)’, you have to play fair wicket first then only you’ll start winning. When the bat is in your hand, how can you not know about edging the ball? We have played bad and we have lost. What kind of batting they’re doing? Come the IPL, these players will hit runs. Don’t play over-aggressive T20 cricket and play positively. Let’s hope that the luck changes in the New Year (for the Indian team),” Khanna told IANS.
Following the defeat in Melbourne, India’s point percentage (PCT), however, has dipped from 55.88 to 52.78 while Australia’s PCT saw a jump from 58.89 to 61.46 as they close in on a second consecutive appearance in the WTC final.
Earlier on Sunday, South Africa became the first team to qualify for next year’s WTC final at Lord’s. Defending champions Australia need just one win in their remaining three Tests (one against India and two against Sri Lanka) to secure their second consecutive final appearance.
India, however, can still qualify for the WTC final but they must win the final Test of the series against Australia in Sydney to tie the Border-Gavaskar series and then rely on the Aussies not winning a Test during their series in Sri Lanka that commences next month.
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