Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly was not all impressed with Rohit Sharma’s ‘field placements’ as he thought India allowed Australia ‘easy runs’ on Day 1 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia at the Oval on Wednesday.
The WTC final 2023 got underway in London on June 7 with Rohit having won the toss and electing to bowl first. It was overcast conditions at the Oval and the Indian captain opted to field and they did get an early reward as Usman Khawaja departed for a duck.
David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne however tried to rebuild the innings for Australia before Shardul Thakur’s delivery got a healthy edge off Warner’s bat and KS Bharat took a sensational diving catch.
IND vs AUS Day 2, WTC 2023 Final LIVE: India Eye Strong Start After Head-Smith Put Australia in Command
Shortly after the second session got underway, Mohammed Shami removed Labuschagne with a stunning inswinging delivery but once Travis Head and Steve Smith were in the middle they changed the complexion of the game.
Head began scoring runs at will while Smith played at his own pace as the Australian duo stitched together a massive 251-run stand before Stumps. By the end of the day’s play, the scoreboard read 327/3 in Australia’s favour as Head (146 off 156) and Smith (95 off 227 balls) put Pat Cummins’ side firmly in command.
Ganguly however wasn’t convinced with India’s display as the former captain felt that Rohit’s side had Australia in a spot of bother when they were reduced to 76/3 but India were guilty of giving away ‘easy runs’.
“India will be a bit disappointed. They had Australia at 76/3 and let them get off the hook. I know that partnerships happen in cricket. There will be a batting team who will come back and play well. I thought India started well just after Lunch but lost the feel a bit as the game progressed,” the former BCCI president told Star Sports at Tea.
“I thought they let Travis Head get off the hook very easily. I know he has been in good form, he has scored a lot of runs, but still they were 76/3. I think Rohit Sharma with his field placements at that stage probably allowed some easy runs to happen and now Australia are in a good position,” Ganguly added.
Rohit and Co will be hoping to start fresh on Day 2 and snare some early wickets to get a way back in the contest, otherwise, it will be very difficult to stop Head and Australia from taking a commanding lead.
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