"You can't defend on this pitch for long" - Harbhajan Singh backs Shubman Gill's shot-selection despite failure in IND vs AUS 3rd Test

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels it isn't right to be too harsh on Shubman Gill for the shot that got him dismissed in the second innings of the third Test against Australia in Indore on Thursday.

Gill was dismissed for just five runs as he tried to charge down the track to Nathan Lyon and smash him over mid-wicket. He didn't get any contact with the ball as it crashed into his middle stump.

Quite a few eyebrows were raised after watching the dismissal and how embarrassing it looked for someone as talented as Shubman Gill. However, here's what the Hindustan Times quoted Harbhajan Singh as saying about Gill's dismissal:

"You have to look out for the opportunity to score runs. You need to see where you can get a four. Shubman wanted to go for a six, and when you consider the pitch condition here, his approach was right because you can't defend on this pitch for long."

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Harbhajan Singh on the Indore pitch

Harbhajan Singh feels that on rank-turners like the one in Indore, it's almost impossible to just keep blocking. He reckons that there will always be that one delivery that will be unplayable and the batter will be dismissed.

He was impressed with the proactive approach that Cheteshwar Pujara has shown so far. Here's what Harbhajan stated:

"See, the game plan is simple here. You can't survive on this pitch with defense. Pujara was using his feet throughout his innings. If you're thinking that you can wait out for a spell and score runs later, it won't work.

"Even if you're playing on 70-80 on this pitch, you can get out with just one odd delivery."

Pujara has scored a crucial half-century in the second innings but India still have a lot of work to do to have any chance of avoiding defeat in Indore.