“Little complacency, little bit of overconfidence” - How former cricketers reacted to Team India’s poor show in Indore 

Having won the first two Tests against Australia comprehensively, India went into the third Test in Indore on a high. Most pundits expected them to steamroll the Aussies and confirm their place in the World Test Championship final. What transpired out in the middle, though, was quite the contrary.

It was Australia who hammered India by nine wickets to book their slot in the WTC final at The Oval. Batting first after winning the toss, the hosts came up with a horrendous batting performance to be bundled out for 109 on Day 1 of the Test.

India’s bowlers led a commendable fightback and restricted Australia to 197 in their first innings. However, Nathan Lyon’s second-innings eight-fer saw India getting bowled out for 163 in their second essay. Australia then chased down the target of 76 without much fuss to register their first victory on the tour.

A lot of former India platers were unhappy with the team’s performance in the Indore Test. Here are some reactions.

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“You drop guard, and this game will bring you down” - Ravi Shastri on India's loss

According to former India coach Ravi Shastri, complacency cost India. He told Star Sports:

“This is what a little complacency, a little bit of overconfidence can do where you take things for granted, you drop guard and this game will bring you down. I think it was a combination of all these things when you actually cast your mind back to the first innings, see some of the shots played, see some of the over-eagerness to try and dominate in these conditions. You reflect back, take a step back or two to analyse.”

Shastri’s former captain Sunil Gavaskar opined that India allowed the pitch to play on their minds. He chipped in and said:

"Batters actually didn't do justice to their talent. If you look at the Indian wickets, you will find it is the Indian batters who got themselves out, playing some shots anticipating that this is what the pitch is going to do. They were not able to go down the pitch as much as they should have. They let the pitch overtake them. It was the pitch that actually started to play on their minds, even in the first innings but more so in the second innings.”

Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh questioned Indian captain Rohit Sharma’s decision to not use left-arm spinner Axar Patel in the second innings. Pointing out to Umesh Yadav’s success in the first innings, he said on Star Sports:

"Absolutely, you never know which bowler bowls such a ball, the one door of opportunity had to be opened, which R Ashwin opened that day (on the second morning) and then Umesh Yadav came and picked up three wickets. Who would have thought Umesh Yadav would pick up three wickets on this pitch but that is what happens.

"R Ashwin bowled 10 overs. There they should have been given short spells. They could have given four to five overs to R Ashwin, four to five overs to Ravindra Jadeja, and you could have got Axar Patel for two to four overs.”

According to former India opener Aakash Chopra, the hosts lacked resilience in Indore. Sharing his thoughts on Jio Cinema, he said:

"Cheteshwar Pujara came and made a gritty fifty that helped India get a lead; he stood his ground and played really well, and if we look at both innings from the Indian perspective, then it came from him alone. Virat Kohli comes next, hits a six, but gets out. Then the lower order collapsed, Shreyas Iyer and one after the other, wickets fell fast. So, they lacked resilience in their team which was very much needed.”

Former India keeper-batter Parthiv Patel urged the star-studded batting line-up to fire. Saying that the team cannot expect the lower order to bail them out every time, he told Cricbuzz:

“India’s star-studded top order needs to fire in the fourth Test. Even on such kind of pitches (spin-friendly), the batters need to apply themselves. At least one batter needs to play a very long innings. (Cheteshwar) Pujara was the only one who scored 59 in Indore. The others did not contribute much. You cannot put the burden on the lower order to bail you out every time. India will expect the top order to score runs in the next Test.”

The fourth Test of the India-Australia series will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad starting Thursday (March 9).