Rohit Sharma’s men are locking horns against the Kangaroos in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Ahmedabad. Indians were hopeful to play some good cricket on day 2 after having a tough outing on day 1 but it seems Australians will not give up easily. Former Australia great Ian Chappell questioned India’s game after Australians are on the edge of posting a huge total in the first innings.
"One thing I can't understand is India's desire to come around the wicket the whole time to a left-hander. It just doesn't make any sense to me. You speak to all the good left-handers that I've spoken to, and they say that right-arm over the wicket is the toughest guy to face. It's okay every now and again for a bit of a change around the wicket," Chappell told ESPNcricinfo.
Usman Khawaja starred with the bat for Australia as he scored 180 runs before going back to the pavilion. Be it Indian pacers or spinners, he batted effortlessly against them. Earlier, on day 1 he batted the entire day and came back to the pavilion on a score of 104 runs.
"Maybe around the wicket works more in England. But in India, ridiculous, particularly to a player like Usman Khawaja, whose great strength is his onside, and we saw that today. Why would you angle the ball into his pads when that's exactly what he wants? Khawaja looked at ease the whole time. India haven't come up with a solution to Khawaja's batting, and it's really starting to hurt them," Chappell added.
Alongside Khwaja, Cameron Green also contributed by smashing his maiden Test century as he departed on the score of 114 runs on day 2. The two batters stitched a 208-run partnership and put Australia post a commanding first-innings total. For India, Ravichandran Ashwin troubled most Australian batters as he scalped four crucial wickets.