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Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden urged the Indian batters to bat "better and for time" during the third Brisbane Test against Australia starting from December 14 onwards.
After a dissapointing batting performance against the pink-ball at Adelaide, Team India would be desperate for big runs and a series lead-providing win against Aussies at Brisbane. Following a humiliating loss to the visitors by 295 runs at Perth's Optus Stadium, which saw Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Yashasvi Jaiswal deliver standout contributions, the hosts bounced back big time as top bowling spells from red-ball magicians Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins and a counter-attacking ton from Travis Head helped them flatten India by 10 wickets, chasing down an extremely easy target of 19 runs. Though India delivered a fine performance at Perth with 487/6 declared in the second innings thanks to exploits from KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli, Team India's batting has largely looked listless since the start of their home Test season against Bangladesh and New Zealand. In seven Tests and 14 innings since the start of Test season against Bangladesh, India has managed totals of 250-plus only four times. They have been skittled out for less than 200 runs seven times. Only twice India have gone on to score above 300, a 462-all out in the first Test against New Zealand and at Perth during the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Amid this poor collective batting performance, the downfall of legendary names like Rohit Sharma (142 runs in six Tests and 12 innings at an average of 11.83 with one fifty) and Virat Kohli (315 runs in seven Tests at an average of 26.25, with a century and fifty in 14 innings) has been saddening to see for the fans. Speaking to Star Sports, Hayden urged India to bat better and put more time on crease. He also said that they must be chasing 350 runs or more and bat first even when conditions are challenging. "India must bat better, they must bat for time. They must bat a day of test match cricket. Under a day, unacceptable. Has to be in that 350 zone. India should bat first even if there are challenging conditions," said Hayden. Hayden also said that the match at Brisbane would be a good one for India since they have the good memories at this venue from 2021, where an inexperienced India thumped Aussies by three wickets in 2021 to secure the series by 2-1 and hand Australia their first loss in over 32 years at the venue. "Brisbane, different ball game! It is a home game, but it is actually a very good game for India as well because they have got memories of the last time they encountered Australia in the BGT," Hayden signed off. (ANI)
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