India finds itself in a precarious position as Australia tightens its grip in the World Test Championship final. With a substantial lead of 296 runs, six wickets in hand, and two full days remaining, Team India faces the daunting task of executing one of the highest successful chases at The Oval. After conceding a first-innings total of 469, India’s top-order crumbled at 71/4, leaving them playing catch-up despite the fighting half-centuries from Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur.
Chasing anything over 300 in the fourth innings against Australia’s quality bowling attack poses a significant challenge. While India battles on the field, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali launches a scathing attack on the Indian team, suggesting that the match’s outcome was sealed when captain Rohit Sharma chose to bowl in overcast conditions. Basit, who played 19 Tests and 50 ODIs for Pakistan, believes that India’s only hope of saving the WTC final is through a miraculous turn of events.
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“India lost the match the moment they chose to bowl worrying about the first two hours. And the kind of bowling that was on display was just like IPL. By lunch, the Indian bowlers appeared so happy as if they’d won the match. All India can do now is hope to get them out cheaply and hope for a miracle in the fourth innings. During the 120 overs that India fielded, I could see only 2-3 players being fit – Rahane, Kohli, and Jadeja. The rest looked tired,” Basit criticized on his YouTube channel.
Not stopping at criticizing the players, Basit Ali targeted coach Rahul Dravid with some harsh statements. While expressing his admiration for Dravid as a player, he questioned Dravid’s coaching tactics and voiced his disappointment with Dravid’s coaching abilities, irrespective of his successes with India A and the senior men’s team.
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“I am a huge Rahul Dravid fan, have always been and will remain. He is a class player, a legend. But as a coach, he is absolutely zero. You prepared turning pitches on India. Just answer me this. When India traveled to Australia, were there similar wickets? They had bouncy pitches, right? God knows what he was thinking. God knows where he was when god was distributing brains,” Basit Ali expressed his dismay.
The scathing remarks by Basit Ali mirror the frustration surrounding India’s performance in the WTC final. As India faces an uphill battle to reverse their fortunes, they must find a way to overcome the challenges posed by a dominant Australian side.
