“Who plays a reverse sweep when there are patches on the wicket?” - Danish Kaneria blames poor shot selection for India’s second-innings collapse
Former Pakistani leg-spinner Danish Kaneria attributed India’s batting collapse on Day 4 of the Birmingham Test against England to poor shot selection. He opined that Indian batters threw their wickets away, without the bowlers having to make too much of an effort.
India resumed their second innings on Monday (July 4) at 125 for three, with a lead of 257 runs. However, they folded up 245 as Ben Stokes claimed four for 33. India were 153 for three at one stage, but ended up losing seven wickets for 92 runs to bring England back into the contest.
Reviewing the fourth day’s play, Kaneria blamed the Indian batters for their failure to put up a good second-innings total on the board. He said on his YouTube channel:
“India knew England had chased big scores against New Zealand recently. They should have also realized that they don’t have a wicket-taking spinner. Their batters should have spent more time at the crease and taken the game deeper. But that did not happen.”
Elaborating on India’s dismissals on Day 4 of the Test against England, he made some critical observations. Kaneria commented:
“Pujara was out caught at point, cutting Broad. It was really pathetic for a set batter to get out like that. Also, Rishabh Pant is a class batter. He played so well on Day 3, leaving balls outside off stump. But who plays a reverse sweep when there are patches on the wicket?
"Shreyas Iyer was batting well but he played too many shots too early. In England, you need to spend time at the wicket. He also gifted his wicket away.”
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Pujara, who resumed his innings on 50*, was dismissed for 66. As for Pant, he was batting on 30 not out and fell for 57. Shreyas (19) was dismissed by a short ball for the second time in the match.
“India should have gained a lead of 400” - Danish Kaneria
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Concluding his thoughts on Day 4 of the Test, Kaneria said India should have gained a lead of at least 400.
He was also disappointed with India’s bowling performance. Kaneria said:
“India should have gained a lead of 400. In the bowling, barring Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami there are no other bowlers who can do wonders. Bumrah is exceptional but the other bowlers are conceding runs at the other end. There is nothing Bumrah can do as captain.”
England ended Day 4 of the Birmingham Test in a strong position at 259 for three after being set a target of 378. They need 119 runs on the final day with seven wickets in hand.
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