"Happened on several occasions lately" - Saba Karim on Team India's top-order woes

Former cricketer Saba Karim recently spoke about how Team India's top-order batters haven't been able to perform well in Test cricket of late.

During a discussion on India News Sports, Karim noted how the Indian batters have started to struggle even in Asian conditions. He also emphasized how the lower-order batters have bailed the side out with valuable contributions on several occasions.

"It is a major cause of concern for Team India, he explained. "A year ago, this problem was only limited to overseas tours. However, we have seen that our top order has failed to get going even in Asian conditions. It has happened on several occasions lately that India have reached a decent score thanks to their middle-order and lower-order batters."

He suggested that KL Rahul and Co. should have played with a lot more positive intent in their second innings. He pointed out how Bangladesh's lower-order batters scored crucial runs on the same surface when the Indian top-order struggled.

"India didn't have a lot of runs to chase but made it look like a mountainous target as we lost four early wickets," Karim added. "India should have adopted an aggressive approach but failed to do so. Instead, we created unnecessary pressure. We should not blame the wicket. We saw how Litton Das, Nurul Hasan, and Taskin Ahmed batted on the same surface."

Stumps on Day 3️⃣ of the second #BANvIND Test.

#TeamIndia move to 45/4 & require 100 runs to win with @akshar2026 & @JUnadkat at the crease.

Scorecard - bit.ly/BANvIND-2NDTEST https://t.co/d9w83R8qLt

Notably, India's top order failed to make a significant impact during the run chase on Day 3 of the second Test. The visitors are reeling at 45/4 at stumps, requiring 100 more runs to secure victory in the fixture.

"There was a clear lack of application" - Virat Kohli's childhood coach on Indian batters

Speaking in the aforementioned video, Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma also slammed the Indian batters for their sub-par performance on Day 3.

He highlighted that the pitch wasn't unplayable, and it was the approach of Team India batters that led to their downfall. The veteran coach added:

"There was a clear lack of application on the part of the Indian batters today. I believe that India should have been more positive. The pitch is not a rank turner or an unplayable one. It is unfortunate to see our top-order batters perform underwhelmingly consistently, leaving a lot for the lower-order batters."

The Bangladeshi spinners troubled the batters in the final session on Day 3, picking up four crucial wickets. The likes of Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Virat Kohli were all dismissed for single-digit scores.

Virat Kohli needs to pick his form in Test cricket 👊🏻

#CricketTwitter #viratkohli #indvsban https://t.co/NwgC5E7Q7F

Axar Patel proved to be the only saving grace for the visitors. He was promoted to the No.4 spot and contributed with an unbeaten 26-run knock to keep one end steady. However, he will have to make crucial contributions on Day 4 for India to whitewash Bangladesh in the Test series.