"Possible is hidden in impossible but it wasn't going to happen" - Aakash Chopra on India's collapse on Day 5 of the WTC final
Aakash Chopra has highlighted that it was always going to be virtually impossible for India to score the required 280 runs on Day 5 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Rohit Sharma and Co. were decently placed at 164/3 at Stumps on Day 4 at The Oval in London, raising hopes of chasing down the 444-run fourth-innings target on the final day. However, they managed only 70 runs on Sunday (June 11) to lose the game by a massive 209-run margin.
While reflecting on India's collapse on the fifth morning in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra pointed out that the hopes of achieving the target were based on optimism and not practicality:
"You were expecting a miracle because 280 runs on the last day with seven wickets in hand, we discussed yesterday also that I don't feel they are going to be scored. You can be optimistic but it is probably more important to be practical."
The former Indian opener added:
"I and you being an optimist won't make a difference. Who do you blame if you call white as black and it turns out white? It was evident that it was extremely difficult for India to win from there. Possible is hidden in impossible but it wasn't going to happen, it was very difficult."
A 444-run fourth-innings target has never been chased successfully in Test cricket. The task was even more difficult considering the Indian batters' underwhelming numbers in the entire WTC cycle.
"It was only a formality after that" - Aakash Chopra on Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja's dismissals
Aakash Chopra pointed out that Scott Boland virtually sealed the game in Australia's favor by dismissing Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja in the same over:
"If we talk about the start, Scott Boland dismissed Virat Kohli for 49 with a full delivery on a wide line. Scott Boland has been absolutely outstanding. Then Ravindra Jadeja was dismissed in the same over. It was only a formality after that."
Chopra added that India lost a flurry of wickets once the duo were dismissed to be handed a crushing defeat:
"Ajinkya Rahane was playing well, he has played well in both innings, but then he also got out. After that, everyone got out one after the other and we lost the match. Nathan Lyon came and picked up four wickets and overall India were handed a big defeat."
Nathan Lyon (4/41) was Australia's most successful bowler. Scott Boland (3/46), Mitchell Starc (2/77) and Pat Cummins (1/55) were the other wicket-takers.