"I expected more from Ashwin" - Aakash Chopra on the Indian bowlers failing to defend 240 runs in the 4th innings vs South Africa
Aakash Chopra believes Team India's bowling might have let them down in a Test match after a considerable while. He highlighted that the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami failed to deliver as per expectations.
The Indian team failed to defend a 240-run fourth-innings target in the second Test against South Africa. The loss helped the hosts draw level in the three-match series and prolonged the visitors' wait for a Test series win in the Rainbow Nation.
While reflecting on Team India's bowling performance in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out that Ashwin was not penetrative enough. He elaborated:
"To be very honest, I expected more from Ashwin. Ravindra Jadeja also picks the same number of wickets, probably scores more runs and is a better fielder. I am not saying that he should have taken a five-wicket haul but I did expect a few more wickets from Ashwin."
The former India opener added that Bumrah and Shami also fell short of the lofty standards they have set. Aakash Chopra observed:
"We saw a rare off day, you didn't pick up wickets. It was slightly an off Test match for Bumrah, it was slightly an off Test match for Shami as well. The performance was not up to the standards we have seen."
Bumrah picked up just one wicket in the entire match and was quite expensive in the second innings. Shami did scalp three wickets in the game but did not look too threatening with the ball.
"There was too much desperation seen on the last day" - Aakash Chopra
While stating that the desperation to take wickets was evident on the fourth day, Aakash Chopra lamented the easy boundaries the Indian bowlers conceded at the start of the South African innings. He said:
"Did our bowling unit not really stand up for the first time in many-many Test matches? There was too much desperation seen on the last day. To be very honest, we didn't start our bowling well. The six boundaries we got hit for by Markram, most of them were on the leg side."
However, the renowned commentator did agree that the Indian bowling lineup was hampered due to Mohammed Siraj's injury. Aakash Chopra stated:
"If you give so many fours, the match runs very quickly. And then when we came on the last day, we gave a lot of extras, five runs off wide deliveries. There is no doubt that Siraj's absence was felt."
Siraj's injury was a big blow..Could have hit the pitch better
Siraj suffered a hamstring injury early in the South African first innings. Although he returned to the field and bowled a few overs, he seemed to lack rhythm and did not pose too many challenges for the Proteas batters.