Former India player Saba Karim recently shared how Team India’s top-order batters failed to step up in Test cricket in recent times as well. During a discussion on India News Sports, Karim stated how the Indian batters have struggled even in Asian conditions. He also shared how the lower-order batters have performed well with valuable contributions many times as well.
“It is a major cause of concern for Team India, he explained. “A year ago, this problem was only limited to overseas tours. However, we have seen that our top order has failed to get going even in Asian conditions. It has happened on several occasions lately that India have reached a decent score thanks to their middle-order and lower-order batters.”
However, he suggested that Team India should have played with a lot more positive approach in their second innings as well. He shared how Bangladesh’s lower-order batters scored important runs on the same surface when the Indian top-order struggled as well.
“India didn’t have a lot of runs to chase but made it look like a mountainous target as we lost four early wickets,” Karim added. “India should have adopted an aggressive approach but failed to do so. Instead, we created unnecessary pressure. We should not blame the wicket. We saw how Litton Das, Nurul Hasan, and Taskin Ahmed batted on the same surface,” Saba Karim again shared.
“I believe that India should have been more positive” – Saba Karim
It is also noteworthy that, Team India’s top order failed to make an impact during the run chase on Day 3 of the second Test as well. The visitors were struggling at 45/4 at stumps, requiring 100 more runs to secure a win as well. And, they eventually did it also.
On the other hand, while speaking in the same video, Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma also took a jibe at the Indian batters for their poor performance on Day 3 as well. However, he added that the pitch wasn’t unplayable, and it was their approach that led to their downfall as well. He further added:
“There was a clear lack of application on the part of the Indian batters today. I believe that India should have been more positive. The pitch is not a rank turner or an unplayable one. It is unfortunate to see our top-order batters perform underwhelmingly consistently, leaving a lot for the lower-order batters.”
Notably, the Bangladeshi spinners troubled the visitors in the final session on Day 3, claiming four crucial wickets – Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Virat Kohli were all dismissed for single-digit scores as well. However, Axar Patel was promoted to the No.4 spot and scored an unbeaten 26-run knock before India sealed the deal on Day 4 to whitewash Bangladesh in the Test series as well.
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