The former spin all-rounder for India, Jatin Paranjpe, has questioned the approach of the visiting side during the third of the five-match Test series in the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 at the Gabba in Brisbane. He felt that the home side wasn’t up to the mark with the bat in hand in the first innings of the encounter.
India started the series on a supreme note with a 295-run victory at the Optus Stadium in Perth with some fabulous batting and bowling performances. But the home side, Australia, came back with an impressive performance in the second day-night pink ball affair, where they blew away the visiting side with a 10-wicket victory.
Rohit Sharma, the captain of the touring side, struggled with the bat as the blue brigade was bundled out for 180 and 175 in both the innings of the game. He, on winning the toss, decided to bowl first under the overcast conditions at the Gabba. The tourists were wayward with their bowling plans on the opening day, as Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney saw off the 13.2 overs that were possible due to persistent rain.
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Jasprit Bumrah kept India in the game with two quick wickets on the second day’s play as he sent back both the overnight opening batters of the side. Marnus Labuschagne went after chasing a wide ball to find the fielder in the slip region. But then came the 241-run stand for the fourth wicket between Steve Smith and Travis Head.
Jatin Paranjape questions India’s game awareness in the first innings of the Gabba Test
The former of the partnership smashed his 33rd Test century, his first since the Lord’s Test in the Ashes in June 2023, while Head carried the purple catch with another impressive hundred against the Indian side. Bumrah again came back to bring the stand before a 70-run unbeaten knock from Alex Carey carried them to 445 in the first innings.
India didn’t have a smooth start with the bat in hand. Yashasvi Jaiswal began with a tricky four in the gully region before flicking the very next ball into the hands of the square-leg fielder. Shubman Gill, trying to be too aggressive, chased down a seventh stump line delivery into the hands of Mitchell Marsh, while Virat Kohli stretched his poor form with a driving shot to get an outside edge. Rishabh Pant soon returned to the pavilion, as Australia found India at 44/4.
The former Indian player, Jatin Paranjpe, claimed that the approach of the visiting side wasn’t decent as he believed that more showing aggression, the players should have batted for a longer duration.
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“More than the score line, it’s the way that India batted today that is worrying. When you are staring down 440, surely you have to approach it from the perspective of batting for long durations of play? “Expressing yourself” is one of the biggest misnomers out there. You have to play for the team, not only for the satisfaction of your mind!! Jaiswal and Gill were disappointing today.” The former left-arm spinner for Mumbai addressed on his ‘X’ account (formerly known as Twitter).
India, however, displayed a better show from that point in time with an 86-run knock from KL Rahul, while Ravindra Jadeja, batting with the lower order, smashed a 77-run knock with the help of seven boundaries and one six at a strike rate of 62. They are still a few yards away from going past the follow-on.