Indian batsmen made Nathan Lyon look extraordinary: Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar was definitely not a pleased man after watching the Indian batsmen succumb to Aussie spinners on day 1 of Bengaluru Test. It is not an often sight to see the Indian team surrender so meekly in their own backyard. Team India had the first call right when they won the toss. Despite having an advantage as big as that, they failed to capitalize. Owing to Nathan Lyon’s stunning 8/50, the hosts were bundled out for a mere 189 in the first innings.

Barring KL Rahul who scored a gutsy 90, no other batsman showed resistance at the crease. Analyzing what perspired in the game, Sunil Gavaskar noted that the Indian team is definitely falling short in the series. He credited the Australian bowling line up as a very strong unit.

In a conversation with NDTV, he reflected back at the same as he quoted, “This is a completely unexpected performance from India. Australia has got a much more potent attack than what the Indians have faced all season. In (Mitchell) Starc and (Josh) Hazlewood, they have got top class new ball bowlers and Nathan Lyon has been a proven performer over the years. The Indians are falling short.”

Lyon was the wrecker in chief as he scalped 8 wickets in the match. Grabbing 8 wickets on the first day of the Test, being an off spinner, add the fact that the batting line up was a right handed batsmen dominated line up – all these combine to be an odd combination. Despite all odds going against him, Lyon came up with an exceptional spell. However, Gavaskar feels that the Indian batsmen played poorly and rather made the bowler look extraordinary on the day. He took no credit away from the bowler but believed that the batsmen could have done much better.

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“The Indian batsmen made him look a bit extraordinary. They allowed him to get on top of them and the technique against the bouncing ball was found wanting. But he bowled really well because he got that line outside the off-stump brilliantly,” quoted Sunil Gavaskar.

The shocker for most Indian fans came when Virat Kohli failed for the third time in a row. He has scored only 25 runs across three innings in the series so far. This has perhaps been the reason why the Indian middle order has failed. Analyzing the dismissals of Kohli, Gavaskar reckoned that the Indian skipper is moving a little too much at the crease.

“In two consecutive matches, Virat has misjudged the turn and line of the delivery and has paid the penalty. He is moving around the crease more than he should, I think he needs to stand a little bit still and not shuffle across the off-stump as he is doing. He has to take a look at his technique because mentally he is very strong,” he conceded.