Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh feels Indian bowlers made a costly ‘mistake’ on Day 1 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia which allowed Pat Cummins’s side to take control of the match. Steve Smith and Travis Head stitched together a 251-run unbeaten stand to power Australia to a score of 327/3 at Stumps on Day 1.
However, Harbhajan feels that the pitch at the Oval is likely to get better as the match goes by, and India are also likely to enjoy batting in the WTC final 2023.
Having won the toss and electing to bowl first, Rohit’s side were put under the cosh by Travis who was batting at 146* and Smith 95* at the end of the day’s play on Wednesday, although the Harbhajan feels the former of Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill combined with the pitch getting better as the game goes on will work in India’s favour.
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Speaking on his YouTube channel, the ‘Turbanator’ said, “The Oval is perhaps the best pitch to bat on in England, and it will be better to bat on as the game goes on. I don’t think India will have any difficulties batting on this wicket. Gill and Kohli are in good form, the weather has opened up, and there is not much cloud cover as well.”
Harbhajan continued, “Only the toss went in India’s favor, after that it was all Australia. India did not have a grip on the game in any of the sessions. Considering the conditions, the team selection was right, but it did not pan out as hoped.”
The spin wizard did go on to criticise the Indian bowlers for bowling wider lines as the game went on and the length also kept getting shorter which allowed Smith and Head to take the contest away from Rohit’s side.
“The lines kept getting wider and the length also kept dropping. The Australian batters were comfortably playing on the back foot. India did not make the most of the new ball. There was a lot of carry on offer and the ball beat the edge a couple of times as well, but that does not matter unless it results in a wicket. It was not one bowler who made the mistake, all four seamers made the same mistake,” added Harbhajan.
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