Adam Gilchrist speaks about Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin after India's loss in first Test
What’s the story?
Former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist opened up about Indian captain Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin after India’s loss in the first Test during an interview with the Mumbai Mirror.
“Virat, as I have said, is undoubtedly the world class player, a proven performer. But he can’t do business every single time. So there is a challenge for the rest of the batting group to find a way to shine on the odd times when Virat has not. Ravi Ashwin’s record speaks for itself. But the Australian batsmen seem to have a plan for him. He has a challenge too”, said Gilchrist when asked about how big a factor will Kohli and Ashwin be through the rest of the series.
In case you didn’t know...
The Australian cricket team humiliated India by 333 runs in the first Test of the four-match series held at the Maharashtra Cricket Association stadium in Pune. The two spinners Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe spun a web around the Indian batting line-up and dismantled them in both the innings of the match.
Chasing 441 for victory in the 2nd innings, Virat Kohli’s men were bundled out for 107 with O’Keefe picking up 6 wickets and Lyon taking the rest. India were not any better in the first innings as they were bowled out for 105 in response to Australia’s 267 in the first innings of the match.
The only positive point for India in the match was their bowling unit who managed to trouble the Australian batsmen constantly. Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Umesh Yadav were all among the wickets
The heart of the matter
Gilchrist who has faced India many times in the past has been a part of the Australian squad who have won and lost in India in the past. He felt that the Australian team, under Steve Smith and Darren Lehmann’s leadership would not have got carried away and instead would have begun to focus on the 2nd Test immediately after the first.
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He also went on to speak about how the Indian team should not be taken lightly and reminisced the famous Test series of 2001 where India made a magnificent comeback after losing the first Test and going on to win the series.
Whats’s next?
The second Test of the Border-Gavaskar series will take place at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on March 4th. The final two Tests of the series will take place at Ranchi and Dharamsala respectively.
Sportskeeda’s take
As Gilchrist said, the Indian team cannot just depend on Kohli to always perform and instead the rest of the batting line-up needs to step up in order to succeed in the long run. Both the openers have not been having a great time on the field over the past few months and will be looking for a change in fortune ahead of the 2nd Test at Bangalore. Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will look to continue their great run of form and trouble the Australian batsmen a bit more than they did in the first Test.