Guwahati, India – Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri has delivered a scathing critique of the Indian batting lineup following a dramatic collapse on Day 3 of the second Test match against South Africa. His comments came after India slumped to 142 for 7, a situation Shastri deemed unacceptable on the current pitch conditions.
“This is still a good surface. This not a pitch to be 142 for 7. Ordinary batting. India won’t be one bit happy. You have to put your hands up and say that’s very ordinary batting,” Shastri stated, pulling no punches in his assessment.
Shastri’s remarks echo those of former South African pacer Shaun Pollock, who earlier described some of the Indian dismissals as “soft.” Pollock suggested that while wickets falling to exceptional deliveries would be understandable, the manner in which the Indian batsmen were losing their wickets was concerning.
The dismissals themselves painted a picture of poor shot selection and questionable technique. KL Rahul was the first to fall, reaching for a delivery from Keshav Maharaj and offering a simple catch at slips. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rahul’s opening partner, succumbed to a ball that appeared to hold up on him, resulting in a soft edge to short third man.
Sai Sudharsan, recalled to the playing XI, failed to capitalize on a promising start, pulling a harmless delivery from Simon Harmer straight to midwicket. Dhruv Jurel, who had previously found success pulling Harmer, attempted a similar shot off Marco Jansen, only to drag the ball from outside off and pop it up to mid-on.
Perhaps the most criticized dismissal was that of Rishabh Pant. As Pollock described it, Pant “ran down the wicket,” charging Jansen and attempting a slog across the line, only to feather an edge through to the keeper. His subsequent, unsuccessful DRS review only added to the scrutiny.
Nitish Reddy’s dismissal followed a similar pattern, with a Jansen bouncer finding the splice of his bat and looping to gully. Ravindra Jadeja then rounded out the procession, fending off another Jansen bouncer that deflected off his shoulder and onto the bat, finding its way to the slips.
“Very soft dismissals,” Pollock observed on JioHotstar, prompting Shastri’s sharp rebuke. The former coach’s frustration was palpable, reflecting the disappointment of Indian cricket fans worldwide.
Adding to the concerns surrounding the Indian batting performance, former India opener Abhinav Mukund highlighted the long-term implications. “Definite question marks about Indian batsmen. India don’t play a Test series next year at home. They have a long time to reassess what to do at Test match level. This performance against South Africa will definitely hurt,” Mukund said.
The Indian team now faces a period of introspection and reassessment as they seek to address the shortcomings exposed in this Test match. With no home Test series scheduled for the coming year, the pressure is on to find solutions and ensure that such collapses are not repeated in future encounters.
