India was outplayed in every department by the touring Australian side, as they registered their first victory of the tour to India. Under the leadership of Steven Smith, the Australian test team made a thumping comeback after being humbled in the first two games by the Indian side in Nagpur and Delhi.
The Indian team’s route to the WTC finals, which seemed fairly simple a few nights ago, is not quite the same anymore. While the destiny is still very much in Rohit Sharma and Co.’s hands, the cushion of a match has been lost.
Credits – The Indian Express
How Can India Qualify For The Finals?
Although the humiliating loss at Indore might have shattered the team, their chances of making it to the finals of the WTC are very high, in fact, the highest.
India needs to win the last test match, which will be played at the Narendra Modi International Cricket Stadium, Ahmedabad. A win in the test match will guarantee a ticket to England for the WTC finals for the men in blue.
By clinching a victory against India, Australia has managed to seal a spot in the WTC Finals.
Sri Lanka will soon lock horns against New Zealand in an away series. The Dimuth Karunaratne-led team needs to win the series 2-0 and create history to have any chance of making it to the finals. Leave alone a loss, but even a draw would ruin their chances of making it to the finals. All of these permutations will only come into play if India loses their final test match against Australia in Ahmedabad.
What Went Wrong In Indore?
After winning the toss and electing to bat first on an extremely dry wicket, the Indian team could not post a total of more than 109 runs. The bowling did a fairly good job of not letting the Australian batters go away with a huge lead, as the Kangaroos were restricted to 197.
Although small, the lead proved to be sizable on the turning track of Indore, as the Indian batters fail to turn up, yet again in the second innings. Courtesy of Pujara’s valiant 50, and a quick-fire 26 by Shreyas Iyed, India posted a total of 163 runs in the third innings, a mere lead of 75 runs. Australia was smooth in their chase, as they secured a win in less than 20 overs.
Credits – India.com
Although the pitch was the best suited for batting, it was the Indian batter’s lack of application that drew the maximum amount of criticism. Courtesy of a century in the first game, Rohit Sharma has been the top scorer for team India, this series. The reflection of poor batting performance from India is the fact that the second highest run scorer for India is our bowling all-rounder, Axar Patel.
The likes of KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, and Srikar Bharat, have not clicked for even a single game. The lack of contribution from the top order will be a matter of worry, not just for the last test, but also for the WTC finals, later this year.
