 "Shastri tears into Indian bowling unit for 'rubbish' display, expects 'harsh words' from Gambhir and Morkel after Day 2")
Ravi Shastri blasted the Indian bowling unit for their “rubbish display” on Thursday that allowed England to seize control on Day 2 of the fourth Test at the Old Trafford in Manchester. The Cricketer-turned-commentator also expected head coach Gautam Gambhir as well as bowling coach Morne Morkel to have some “harsh words” with the bowlers after the day’s play, which saw the Ben Stokes-led hosts reach 225/2 at stumps after bowling India out for 358.
“Just not consistent enough.They will look back at this session and see, especially some of the boundary deliveries, that it’s pretty ordinary stuff, at times rubbish,” Shastri said on air, referring to the afternoon session in which they were smashed for 77 runs in 14 overs by English openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett .
Wouldn’t hold back if I still were coach, says Shastri
Shastri added that he would react in a similar manner, perhaps “in better terms” if he still was the head coach.
“Absolutely, maybe in better terms. Maybe get the local lingo in there, which can sound harsher. Some harsh words will be exchanged by the coach and the bowling coach,” he added.
Crawley (84) and Duckett (94) would go on to bring up their half-centuries and add 166 for the opening wicket – the second-highest in the ongoing series after their 188-run stand at Headingley that laid the foundation for their successful chase of 371 .
It wasn’t until Ravindra Jadeja got rid of Crawley right after the drinks interval in the evening session that the opening partnership was finally broken. Debutant Anshul Kamboj would grab his maiden international wicket shortly after by having Duckett caught-behind, denying the southpaw a century.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsDespite losing a couple of wickets towards the end of the day’s play, England remained firmly in control and are poised to collect a sizeable first innings lead on the ‘Moving Day’.
Though Jadeja (1/37) and Kamboj (1/48) were the only Indians to take a wicket on Day 2, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah (13-4-37-0) stood out once again with his economy of 2.84 – the only Indian with an economy under 4.
Senior pacer Mohammed Siraj finished wicketless for 58 runs in 10 overs while all-rounder Shardul Thakur, who returned to the XI for the first time since the series opener at Headingley, was hit for 35 runs in five wicketless overs at an economy of 7.
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