"The young bowlers gave a very good performance" - Sunil Gavaskar
Former player Sunil Gavaskar has lauded the performance of the inexperienced Indian attack for not letting Australia post a mammoth score in the first innings of the ongoing Brisbane Test.
India have fielded a five-pronged bowling attack with a combined experience of four Test matches in the series-decider of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, they rose to the occasion and dismissed Australia for 369 runs in their first essay.
During a discussion on the Sony Sports network, Sunil Gavaskar was asked about the Indian bowling effort on the second day of the Brisbane Test.
He said the inexperienced Indian bowlers bounced back brilliantly after Tim Paine and Cameron Green had given Australia a bright start in the morning session.
"Our young bowlers gave a very good performance. Yes, there was a partnership between Paine and Green. Our bowlers had got off to a slightly slow start today; Natarajan was hit for two fours in his first over."
However, the former Indian opener spoke in glowing terms about the Indian attack, as it restricted Australia to a manageable total. The hosts looked set for a bigger total at 311-5 when Paine and Green were at the wicket.
"But after that, the way they bowled, it was praiseworthy, and I enjoyed seeing that. These players, who had just the eleven or thirteen wickets before the game started, bowled very well; it seemed like Australia will score 400-450 runs at one point," said Sunil Gavaskar.
We have good players for the future: Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar opined that the impressive performances of the inexperienced bowlers will hold India in good stead for the future.
Two debutants - T Natarajan and Washington Sundar - picked up three wickets on their debut while Shardul Thakur - playing his second Test - also scalped three. Navdeep Saini, who was injured on the first day, and Mohammed Siraj - the two other bowlers - were playing only their second and third Tests respectively.
"When a new player comes and performs well, then your hopes are raised that we have got good players for the future in case there is any injury", observed Sunil Gavaskar."
Sunil Gavaskar said the excellent showing by the inexperienced brigade made up for the absence of regulars like Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
"Bumrah, Ashwin and Jadeja, who are the lynchpins of our bowling attack, they were not playing, still our young bowlers gave a very good performance, and seeing that, it feels very good."