“Can’t hide from facts…”: Dinesh Karthik’s scathing take on India’s 3rd Test defeat

It was a day to forget for Team India on Friday after they suffered a nine-wicket defeat against Australia in the third Test of the four-match series in Indore. After being bowled out for 163 in the second innings, the Rohit Sharma-led side had taken a 75-run lead, which the visitors chased down in a matter of hours for the loss of one wicket on the third day. Travis Head (49*) and Marnus Labuschagne (28*) shared a 78-run partnership for Australia to help them qualify for the final of the World Test Championship. It was a tough day for India as their top batting order struggled to face the spinners as the pitch at Indore turned a lot.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara have been successful in performing brilliantly in the current series. Veteran India wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik said that the failure of Team India’s top-order has been “camouflaged” by the lower-order’s contribution.

“We cannot hide from the fact that India’s top seven players did not get the scores they wanted. We’re talking about continuous degradation. Is it difficult to bat on this pitch? Most definitely. But as a team they have chosen to play on these pitches, which means they need to back themselves on these pitches. They are capable of it, in isolation a lot of players have probably played on tougher pitches and been successful but playing international cricket is a different game,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.

“When you get out a couple of times, a lot of doubts come, the confidence goes down. And then, going out there to play the big shots to get away from the pressure and still back yourself can be really tough. I totally sympathize with the Indian batsmen, it’s hard work, but that’s Test cricket.

The Indian captain scored a century in the first Test, but he did not perform well in the next two matches. Virat managed only 111 runs in four innings while Pujara redeemed himself with a half-century in the third Test. Apart from him, all-rounder Akshar Patel has scored 185 runs in the series so far.

“They will admit that a big part of it is hidden from two things – the contribution of the lower order and the fact that India won both those matches. If you rewind and go to the Bangladesh series, there is also They struggled against the spinners, but India won those matches and hid the lower-order contribution. But when you lose a match, it’s blatantly obvious, it’s right in your face and people know about it. Will speak about it and they are right in doing it. This has been happening continuously for quite some time and the question will arise that how can it happen that Team India is constantly backing these players but they are not able to score the required scores.

Head (49 not out) and Labuschagne (28 not out) survived some anxious moments before taking Australia home in 18.5 overs as the match ended in less than two days.

Wins in India are rare for visiting teams and it was no different for Australia, who registered their first win on Indian soil in six years.

For India, it was only their third defeat in the last 10 years and they will need to rework their plans ahead of the final Test starting March 9 in Ahmedabad.

with PTI inputs

featured video of the day

“You Will Get Flack…”: Sourav Ganguly’s Blunt Take On KL Rahul’s Poor Run Of Form