Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar voiced his disappointment regarding the Indian bowlers’ performance with the pink ball on the first day of the second Test against Australia in Adelaide. He believes they could have performed better.
Australia finished the day at a comfortable 86 for one after dismissing India for 180 in their first innings. Mitchell Starc’s six-wicket haul played a crucial role in Australia’s strong position.Gavaskar, speaking on Star Sports, emphasised the importance of making the batters play. He highlighted how creating opportunities by setting up deliveries can lead to wickets.
“They have to make the batters play as much as they can. And this is what happens when you make the batters play as much as they can.”
Gavaskar cited examples of successful strategies with the pink ball, referring to dismissals of Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne in the Perth Test. He felt the Indian bowlers hadn’t utilized the pink ball to its full potential.
“You can set them up by bowling a couple of deliveries outside and then get the ball to move back in, as it did to Nathan McSweeney in the Perth Test, or to Labuschagne in the Perth Test, like what Bumrah did. The Indian bowlers have not really used the pink ball as well as they should have.”
Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden praised Starc, labeling him a “magician with the pink ball” after his impressive spell against India. Starc’s six wickets for 48 runs significantly damaged the Indian batting line-up.
Hayden, also speaking with the broadcaster, expressed surprise at the extent of swing Starc generated, even in the later overs. He acknowledged the significance of momentum in cricket.
“He has that scrambled seam delivery that goes across the right-hander, but when he does have that ability – which he did – I must admit I was a little surprised. I’ve never really seen the pink ball swing into the sort of 40th over and so aggressively swing as well.”
Hayden noted that Starc’s ability to swing the ball aggressively, particularly under lights, shifted the momentum back in Australia’s favor. He emphasized the difficulty of regaining momentum in both life and sports.
“By that stage, he used a really important word, and it’s a bit of an underrated word as well, and that’s ‘momentum’. It was all in favour of India.”
“A difficult position to come back from in life and sport is those opportunities to wrestle back momentum, and Mitchell Starc did that in only the way he can – when the lights are like the way they are and with that beautiful-coloured ball in his hand. He’s just a magician with the pink ball.”
Australia took control of the match, taking the last six Indian wickets for 98 runs before the dinner break. They had earlier reduced India to 82 for four at tea.
Starc’s inswinging deliveries proved effective in dismissing Ravichandran Ashwin and Harshit Rana. Pat Cummins also contributed by using short-pitched bowling.
Hayden analyzed Australia’s bowling performance, suggesting they bowled in two distinct phases. He observed that their initial approach was conservative, anticipating the pink ball’s swing later in the innings.
“I think Australia bowled in two halves, to be honest. I thought their first maybe 20 overs, they were very conservative. It was like they knew that the pink ball was going to start to swing.”
Hayden pointed to Scott Boland’s bowling around the stumps as a turning point. He also highlighted how Starc’s deliveries, beginning around the 35th over, generated substantial swing.
“And when Scott Boland came around and just started getting into the line of the stumps, that was the turnaround. Around about that 35th over, we saw some of those missiles that Mitchell Starc started.”
“That was 45, 50 overs in, and it started to swing. That’s what earned them the strong position they find themselves in today.”
India’s assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, also commended Starc’s exceptional display with the pink ball. He emphasized the difficulty batters face when the ball swings unpredictably.
“I think Ash’s dismissal was a very good example of why he’s so effective with the pink ball.”
Ten Doeschate explained how Starc’s ability to swing the ball both ways makes him highly effective. He acknowledged Starc’s confidence with the pink ball, stemming from past successes.
“When the ball swings back to a certain degree, a lesser degree, the batters can generally figure it out. But when you’re guessing on both sides, it makes him far more effective. Just the areas he bowled today were superb.”
Ten Doeschate identified Starc as the primary exponent of swing bowling among both teams, recognizing his skill and effectiveness with the pink ball.
“And obviously he takes a lot of confidence from the pink ball, having done well in the past. And he’s probably the main exponent of swing bowling out of the two teams.”
