Border-Gavaskar Trophy: 4th Test, Day 3 - Flops of the Day

India today emphatically whitewashed the Aussies 4-0 in a four match series and now have a chance to go back to number 2 in ICC Test Rankings if New Zealand beat England (which looks likely after the third day’s play). Dhoni and the boys were in attacking mood as they scored at over 5 runs per over but at the same time, Australia’s bowling was disappointing considering the wearing third day pitch. So, here are the guilty players who let their respective teams down:

1.David Warner

David Warner, the fiery Australian opener had a series to forget as he was LBW to the bowling of Jadeja today, piling on more pressure on him. With this tour now over, he will have a lot of time to introspect how he would approach his Test career. Considering the performances in the current series, if he makes the flight to England, he should thank his stars.

2. Sachin Tendulkar

After the first Test at Chennai, runs have steadily dried up for the Little Master. Today, as usual, he walked into the middle with a standing ovation from a strong Kotla crowd (possibly for the last time) after Kohli was dismissed. India needed only a handful of runs to win courtesy a Pujara-Kohli century partnership. But twice in the span of two days, Tendulkar failed to make a mark as he was adjudged LBW to Lyon after adding only a single run against his name. It seems an end of Tendulkar’s career, especially at home, as India do not play the next Test series at home for another 18 months.

3. Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane had been patiently waiting for his chance for more than a year but when he did get it, he didn’t do himself any favour at all as he played an awful shot in the 2nd innings today and will be kicking himself for that. His contribution in the match was a grand total of 8 runs. Considering the cut-throat competition for places in the middle order, do not be surprised if he has to wait for another year to be back in the team.

4. Shane Watson

Shane Watson, captain for the day, was the biggest flop of the whole series, let alone today. Trying to pull against Ojha, he was bowled for the score of 5. Much was expected from the Australian vice-captain when he arrived at the start of the tour as he, along with Michael Clarke, were the only two players who had any experience of playing in Indian condition. While Clarke left the tour with his reputation intact, perhaps Watson is the one who has suffered the most during this tour. With increasingly losing the confidence of the team management, he might well find himself out of favour for the Ashes this year.

5. Matthew Wade

Clarke had emphasised on the importance of getting starts on this tour and Wade was again guilty today of throwing away his wicket after making 19. The Australian wicket-keeper had an average tour of India compared to his predecessors like Adam Gilchrist and Ian Healy. More so, as he has been selected more as a batsman who keeps the wickets and with his keeping skills already under the scanner from legends such as Healy, he needs to pull up his socks else he would find himself out from the team as someone of the caliber of Tim Paine is waiting in the wings!