Opinion: Captain Kohli and Coach Shastri must be held accountable for back-to-back blunders at Perth and Melbourne
Australia ended the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test at 258 for 8, thanks mainly to the resistance shown by Pat Cummins and some handy contributions from a few other batsmen, including Tim Paine, Usman Khawaja and Travis Head.
On the fifth day, Australia need another 141 runs to win the match, but India have a much more realistic chance of taking the two remaining Aussie wickets and moving into a 2-1 series lead. Ordinarily, any team would be more than happy to be in India’s shoes right now.
But from an Indian perspective, it’s frustrating to see the match go into a fifth day. There is a possibility of rain and even a potential wash-out, a piece of information that was known to all for quite some time.
In fact, even if the whole day’s play is not washed out and the number of overs to be bowled in the day is reduced drastically, the way Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon have batted so far, it’s not beyond them to eke out a memorable draw.
If that indeed turns out to be the case, then due credit must be given to the Australian batsmen, especially Cummins. However, the Indian think tank, especially Captain Virat Kohli and Head Coach Ravi Shastri must be held accountable for their horrendous decision to not enforce the follow-on when the Indian bowlers were in red-hot form and would have relished the opportunity to have a second go at a nervous Australian batting line-up, still 292 runs in arrears.
It boggles the mind to think that two great cricketing minds, with so many members of the support staff to fall back on, would take a decision that would defy common sense. Thanks to their decision, Indian batsmen batted for over 37 overs, gave away eight wickets to the Aussies, and most importantly, ate away a lot of valuable time, which may come back to haunt them if it rains on the fifth day, as has been forecast.
But even if rain relents and India get enough time to take the two wickets on the fifth day, it’s high time the Indian think tank, especially the Captain and Head Coach are held accountable. This blunder comes hot on the heels of another equally horrendous decision to leave out a spinner from the side at Perth.
Kohli may be India’s best batsman, but he has made far too many blunders as a captain to merit holding on to the position. And it’s a shame that despite having so many members of his choice in his support staff, Shastri is failing time and again to help Kohli make the right call.
For long-suffering Indian cricket fans, it is one thing to see the side lose overseas when they are outplayed by the opposition, but it’s quite another to see them gift away an advantage despite having the right personnel in the team - except at the helm!