India vs Australia 2018: Why India should have opted for Ravindra Jadeja instead of Umesh Yadav
After having drawn first blood in the first Test match against Australia at Adelaide, India started off at Perth with high expectations. Though Nathon Lyon helped Australia with both the bat and the ball, they lost the first match by 31 runs.
India ruled out Ravichandran Ashwin and Rohit Sharma ahead of the second Test due to injuries and roped in Hanuma Vihari and Umesh Yadav to fill the slots. It came as a surprise that India decided to go with a four-man pace attack as everyone was expecting Jadeja to replace Ashwin.
Having set a target of 287, India are currently at 112/5 at the end of the 4th day with Hanuma Vihari (24*) and Rishabh Pant (9*) at the crease. Again, KL Rahul failed to make an impression and was dismissed for a duck from Mitchell Starc. The next one in the list was Pujara who was dismissed by a stunning delivery from Hazlewood. Though Vijay and Kohli looked to build a partnership, both the batsmen were dismissed by Nathon Lyon. Rahane also made his way back to the pavilion after making 30 runs. This is where India are in need of an all-rounder – be it a bowler who can bat or a batsman who can bowl.
The pitch at Perth seems to be unique – it produced some bouncers and many batsmen were prone to some unpredictable deliveries by the pacers. The pitch also produced some decent turn for Nathon Lyon.
India, on the other hand, lacked a full-time spinner. Though Vihari bowled part-time (he picked a couple of wickets in the first innings), India still need a full-time spinner. Keeping in mind how poorly the Indian tailenders can bat, the selectors should have gone with Ravindra Jadeja instead of Umesh Yadav.
Yadav was not impressive with the ball, either, compared to Shami, Bumrah or Ishant Sharma and this is where the Indian team fumbled. It is not fair to blame the tail-enders for not gathering some runs when the openers failed to do the same.
If there’s anyone who should be blamed, it is the selectors. With Prithvi Shaw injured, the current Indian openers struggling to build a partnership, and the tail-enders not so good with the bat, they should have picked Jadeja, who could have made a huge difference with the bat and ball.
He can bowl throughout the day and could have helped in easing the pressure off the Indian pacers. His presence in the team would have restricted the Aussies in gathering the huge lead in the second innings. He could have also margined in some runs and helped build a middle-order partnership.
As the Australians are edging closer to a victory at Perth, the Indian fans will be hoping for the selectors to have a balanced team after assessing the deficiencies in the team, for the upcoming Test at Melbourne.