WTC final: "They could've batted more responsibly in the 2nd innings" - Irfan Pathan on where Team India went wrong
Irfan Pathan has blamed Team India's slightly irresponsible batting in the second innings for their defeat against New Zealand in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The Indian team were handed an eight-wicket drubbing on the reserve day of the WTC final. While the match was intriguingly poised going into the final day, the Virat Kohli-led side lost the summit clash by eight wickets after being bundled out for just 170 in their second innings.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Irfan Pathan attributed India's loss to their batting collapse in the second innings. He said:
"If we talk about proper cricketing reasons where we went wrong in this match, it was even after the first innings. But after that, the second innings batting was extremely disappointing because the ball was not moving that much in the second innings. So, they could have batted more responsibly there."
The former Indian all-rounder pointed out that Rishabh Pant could have been more selective in his strokeplay:
"I know Rishabh Pant plays very well in a destructive fashion. But destructive batting doesn't mean that you walk down the wicket to pace bowlers and try to hit them out of the ground. Some responsibility was required."
Rishabh Pant danced down the wicket to Trent Boult and only managed to sky an attempted big shot. He was caught by Henry Nicholls, who ran backwards from the gully position.
"A slight shortage of commitment was also seen" - Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan felt the Indian batsmen could have worn the ball on the body rather than attempting aggressive shots against the concerted short-pitched bowling dished out by the Kiwis. He said:
"I also felt that when they were bowling the bouncers against the Indian batsmen, they were trying to play the pull shot instead of taking it on the body. It means there a slight shortage of commitment was also seen."
Irfan Pathan reckons the Indian team were light in the batting department and lacked a seam-bowling all-rounder:
"They played a batsman short. I was saying this even before the Test match started but that is my thinking. Then we do not have a fast-bowling all-rounder like New Zealand have. Getting one in is also slightly difficult."
There were suggestions from certain quarters that Team India should play Hanuma Vihari ahead of Ravindra Jadeja to strengthen their batting department. However, the Indian team stuck to their five-bowler policy, with Jadeja more than capable of handling the willow.