Sunil Gavaskar disappointed with Team India's lack of fight

Sunil Gavaskar questions the logic behind going hard at the ball and playing away from the body.

Calling India’s loss in the 3rd Test match against England at Rose Bowl as an “abject surrender,” former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar termed that the match was far an equal contest between the two sides.

"To lose this Test even before lunch showed zero resistance whatsoever,” Gavaskar was quoted saying to NDTV.

Praise for Ajinkya Rahane

India lost the Test at Southampton by 266 runs, allowing England to level the series at 1-1 with two games to play. Gavaskar, the first batsman to reach 10,000 Test runs, praised Mumbai lad Ajinkya Rahane for his determination and questioned the batting technique of other batsmen, as India lost all six wickets they had before the end of the first session on day 5.

“Apart from Ajinkya Rahane, who applied himself, there was no one else who was able to stay put. There was no fight and that is a disappointing aspect.

"Rahane waited for the ball, he did not reach out for deliveries outside the off-stump. Yet whenever there were loose deliveries, he took the opportunities to score. When you are faced with a big score, it is important to keep the scoreboard ticking. The others were trying to play with hard hands and reach out to deliveries," the man with 34 Test centuries said.

Murali Vijay’s dismissal was unnecessary

The 65-year-old called Murali Vijay’s dismissal as “a waste of a wicket” and added that there was no run available there. The Tamil Nadu opener was run out going for a quick single on Shikhar Dhawan’s call on day 4. The right-hander’s dismissal meant India lost their one batsmen who was in really good form.

The ex-international cricketer also pointed out at the nature of India to suffer defeat immediately after winning a Test.

"India had England on the ropes with the win at Lord's. I don't know what they did in the five intervening days before the game but they were sloppy on the field on Day 1 and allowed (Alastair) Cook to get away. This has been the problem with the Indian team since the 1930s - the complacency," he stated.