India was bowled out for a meager total of 109 on the first day of the 3rd Test against Australia, with spinner Matthew Kuhnemann causing trouble for Rohit Sharma and the Indian team on the spinning Indore track. Australian captain Steve Smith’s team took the early lead, and former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden criticized Rohit Sharma for his lackluster performance in the first innings.
After stroking three boundaries, Indian skipper Rohit had set his sights on dominating spinner Kuhnemann. Rohit came down the track to punish Kuhnemann but his aggressive approach backfired immediately as the veteran Indian opener was stumped by wicketkeeper Alex Carey in the sixth over. Rohit’s departure sparked India’s shocking batting collapse in Indore.
While legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar opined that Rohit paid the price for ‘losing his patience’, co-commentator and ex-Australian opener Hayden castigated the Indian skipper during the innings break. “I think there are some forgettable shots, no doubt about it. Rohit Sharma – and I’ve always said this about Test match cricket – the captain leads from the front. So that dismissal is something he will look back and think – Maybe I was a little lazy, maybe I was a little apprehensive,” Hayden told Star Sports.
Hayden slammed Rohit after Australia managed to dominate the hosts despite losing skipper Pat Cummins, pacer Josh Hazlewood and veteran opener David Warner in the lead-up to the Test series decider at Indore. “Winning the toss, you want to make a big impression, want to enforce that dominance onto Australia, who are depleted. They don’t have their captain, they don’t have David Warner. Lots to lose for them, including not being in that Test Championship [final]. I think [there was] maybe a little bit of complacency mixed with a little bit of arrogancy as well,” Hayden added.
Mediocre knocks from Shubman Gill (21), Virat Kohli (22) and Srikar Bharat (17) only pushed India towards a below-par total of 109 in 33.2 overs. Taking cognisance of Hayden’s remarks against Rohit during the 3rd Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar also echoed the same sentiments and observed that the senior batter arrived in Indore with a ‘hangover’ of India’s impressive wins over the Baggy Greens.
“Spot on. A lot of that was seen in the way Rohit Sharma played. He was out twice – the reviews weren’t taken – and then he was out the third time. So it was a Rohit Sharma who came out with the hangover of the earlier two Test matches’ dominance. He didn’t start from ball one. There was a bit of arrogance there,” Manjrekar said.
Riding on Usman Khawaja’s 60 off 147 balls, Australia posted 156-4 on Day 1 of the Indore Test at the Holkar Cricket Stadium. Australia have taken a healthy lead of 47 runs over India in the 3rd Test on Day 1. Rohit’s India had retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after defeating Australia in the first two matches of the Test series. “Just that [thought of], “We’re Team India, we’re just gonna turn up here today. It’s our conditions, we’ve won the toss and we’re going to own the day and own the Test match,” Hayden concluded.
