IND vs AUS: Indian veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara slams the strategy and planning of Indian bowlers against Travis Head after the defeat in Adelaide by 10 wickets. Travis Head, with his knock, helped Australia extend their lead of 157 runs over the Indian side, with a breathtaking 140 runs scored from the left-hander. This important knock chelped Australia to level the series.
Travis Head batted with an aggressive approach against the visitors, smashing them for 13 fours and 4 sixes. He alone gave Australia a commanding position in the pink-ball test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. His inning was the turning point in the fortunes of the Australian side.
Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara raised concerns about the Indian team’s tactical approach during their clash with Australia, specifically questioning why they didn’t utilize short-pitched deliveries against Travis Head. Pujara pointed out that Head has historically struggled with such deliveries, suggesting that the Indian bowlers missed an opportunity to exploit this weakness.
He stated, “Head’s weakness is short-pitched deliveries, which is well known to the opposition, But we only saw two three short-pitched deliveries to him… They could have been used more effectively.”
“He dominates the offside, so we could have curbed his offside stroke-making, and instead of a 6-3 (offside-onside), a 5-4 field placement would have been a good ploy against Head,” Pujara added.
His comments reflect a sense of frustration, as short-pitched balls have been a known vulnerability in Head’s batting technique, and Pujara felt this strategy could have been a key factor in unsettling the Australian batsman. By not testing Head in this manner, Pujara implied that the Indian team may have missed a crucial chance to gain an upper hand in the match.
Pujara also believed that the Indian batters’ lack of experience in handling the pink ball was evident, as they played their shots too late. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill both made promising starts but were unable to convert them into big scores. Experienced batters Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and KL Rahul were unable to reach double digits. Youngster Nitish Kumar Reddy and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant tried to carry the pressure on their shoulders but fell apart.
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