The World Test Championship (WTC) Final has lived up to its billing, at least on the days we’ve had play so far. After being sent in to bat first, India got off to a good start courtesy Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill but faltered along the way in swinging conditions.
They got shot out for 217 on Day 3, with the tall Kiwi pacer Kyle Jamieson recording his 5th five-wicket haul in the inaugural edition of the WTC cycle. Similar to the Indian openers, Tom Latham and Devon Conway guided the Black Caps innings safely, before a couple of rash shots brought about their downfall. However, New Zealand were still on top with 101 on the board, trailing India by 116 runs with 8 wickets in hand.
There needs to be a change in length – VVS Laxman
The former Indian batsman opined that the pacers need to bowl fuller in order to extract more movement as opposed to hitting the deck hard. Speaking on Hotstar’s ‘Cricket cravings with Jatin’, Laxman said:
“No.1 is length. There needs to be a change in length. From what we have seen so far, the Indians have bowled a lot in the good length area. If they try to bowl more full, there will be more chances of taking a wicket.”
And the covers are coming off in Southampton đŸ˜ƒ
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He continued pointing out that India needs to be patient but aggressive. Since the Men in Blue failed to put up a large total on the board, their margin for error is very less – meaning they cannot afford to give away runs cheaply.
“No.2 is patience, you can’t afford to give a lot of runs. If you concede runs, you will be under pressure. NZ trails by 116 runs, it means you can’t give runs away cheaply. They need to continue with a disciplined and patient approach.”
The 46-year-old added that Jasprit Bumrah would be his go-to bowler in this situation. VVS Laxman hopes to see a magical spell of bowling from the seam bowler on Day 5. His third point about bouncers, is something Bumrah can be effective with.
“No.3 is that they need to be aggressive and attacking. Should use more short pitch deliveries, especially against Ross Taylor and Colin de Grandhomme,” he concluded.
