"Why didn't they force Rohit Sharma to bring more fielders in?" - Danish Kaneria questions Indian spinners' tactics on Day 3 of IND vs AUS 3rd Test
Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria was unhappy with India's plan to defend the target of just 76 on Day 3 of the third Test against Australia in Indore.
Captain Rohit Sharma set some defensive fields while defending a small target, according to Kaneria. He also questioned why experienced spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja did not urge the captain to deploy more close-in fielders.
In a video on his YouTube channel, here's what Danish Kaneria had to say about India's bowling in the fourth innings in Indore:
"Ashwin and Jadeja are such great bowlers and have bags of experience. Why didn't they force Rohit Sharma to bring more fielders in? They could have discussed with the captain the possibility of going on the attack for at least half hour and checking if they can come back in the game.
"As it is, you were probably going to lose anyway. So you might as well have tried by being ultra-aggressive in your field setups."
Kaneria also questioned Ashwin for changing the ball after just 10 overs. He feels the changed ball didn't get the required bite off the surface and that took India out of the game, allowing Australia to counter-attack. The former Pakistan international added:
"Ashwin did another baffling mistake by asking the ball to be changed. Although the seam was a bit worn out, it still was getting the bite off the pitch.
"But the new ball that he got was a bit softer and then Travis Head showed Pat Cummins and the selectors that it was unfair for him to sit out in the first Test."
Australia scored just 13 runs in the first 10 overs before scoring 65 runs in the next 8.5 overs to seal a nine-wicket win.
Danish Kaneria was furious with Rohit and Dravid's strategy
Danish Kaneria also slammed Indian captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid for not setting attacking fields at the start of the fourth innings. He feels the hosts just had to come onto the field thinking that it was a game of just one hour where they had to squeeze the runs and pick wickets in clusters.
On this, Kaneria stated:
"Rohit and Dravid should have decided to set attacking fields for the first hour of play and not think about the 75 runs that they had to defend. Where's that Test cricket where the close-in fielders are chirping and disturbing the batters' concentration?
"Here you set in-out fields and tell the batters, 'Please come and take the game away from us.'"
India will likely need to think about making some changes to their XI or at least to their strategy ahead of the final Test in Ahmedabad next week. Rohit and Co. need a victory to secure their place in the World Test Championship final without depending on other results.