"Our batters gave away their wickets" - Sunil Gavaskar criticizes India's aggressive batting in 3rd IND vs AUS Test

Sunil Gavaskar has criticized the Indian batters for throwing away their wickets in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Australia bowled out India for 163 in their second innings in Indore on Thursday, March 2. Steve Smith and Co. need 76 runs in the final innings to register their first win in the four-match series after reversals in the first two games.

While reviewing the day's play on Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar highlighted that the Indian batters, unlike their Australian counterparts, threw away their wickets, elaborating:

"If we see the Australian wickets, the Indian bowlers had to earn every wicket. If we see our wickets, our batters gave away their wickets. They thought beforehand about what they could do on this pitch, so they became aggressive and they got out doing that."

The former Indian skipper was further asked about Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill's contrasting second-innings approach, with the Indian skipper being conservative and the latter being aggressive, to which he responded:

"Any player, whether he is a bowler or a batter, thinks about how the pitch will be (before the game). Once the first innings happens, he comes to know how the pitch will play, so you adjust your game accordingly."

Gill was bowled by Nathan Lyon while playing a big shot after dancing down the pitch after having scored just five runs. Rohit was caught plumb in front of the wickets by the same bowler for a 33-ball 12.

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"Even he will shake his head when he sees that shot in the highlights" - Sunil Gavaskar on Shubman Gill's dismissal

Shubman Gill was included in India's playing XI at KL Rahul's expense. [P/C: BCCI]

Gavaskar was disappointed with Gill's shot selection, saying:

"I felt because the ball was turning a lot on this pitch, our batters thought that their names might be there on any delivery, so they wanted to do something before that. Shubman Gill played that shot, even he will shake his head when he sees that shot in the highlights, that it was not a good shot."

The cricketer-turned-commentator reckons Rohit's first-innings dismissal might have contributed to his conservative approach, explaining:

"He (Gill) had just come to bat after lunch. He might have been successful if he had given himself a little time. Rohit Sharma, because he was stumped out in the first innings, probably thought that he should play cautiously, as he had scored a century in Nagpur playing like that."

Gavaskar concluded by opining that the Indian batters' concern about the pitch was more responsible for their dismissals than the Australian bowlers. He added that even Virat Kohli was dismissed while trying to hit a boundary off a short ball, after having already struck a four.