IND v AUS 2020: 'Sometimes you also need luck to be on your side' - Sachin Tendulkar dissects India’s embarrassing capitulation

Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar recently justified India getting skittled out for their lowest-ever Test total of 36. He said that the visiting batsmen were out of luck in the second innings of the pink-ball Test against Australia in Adelaide last week.

In an interview with IANS, Sachin Tendulkar said that the Indian batsmen weren’t bogged down by pressure. He reasoned that India had quite a few experienced campaigners in their line-up, who were used to dealing with high-pressure situations.

“They have dealt with pressure situations. Barring Prithvi, and possibly Mayank, all the players have played enough. Virat [Kohli], Ajinkya [Rahane], Cheteshwar [Pujara] and [Wriddhiman] Saha have been around while Hanuma Vihari, compared to these guys, has played less. So, players have the ability to soak that pressure and they did their best,” Sachin Tendulkar said.

He further added that luck was not present on India’s side. Sachin Tendulkar explained that balls were kissing the outside edge and reaching the fielders at a decent height, courtesy of a hardened-up Day 3 pitch.

“But sometimes you also need luck to be on your side. And as I said, there were not a number of occasions when the batters were getting beaten and continuing to bat without losing wickets. That did not happen. The edges were going straight to fielders and they were carrying.

“In the first innings, there were a number of edges but the ball didn’t carry to fielders. I remember, at least three times the ball didn’t carry. In the second innings, the wicket had become harder, and there was more pace and bounce in the surface,” Sachin Tendulkar reasoned.

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Getting a good stride forward can help a lot of players: Sachin Tendulkar

Prithvi Shaw was dismissed for 0 and 4 in the pink-ball Test

Six of the nine dismissed batsmen in the second innings edged the ball and were caught behind. Notably, 21-year-old opener Prithvi Shaw’s dismissals in both innings were identical as he was castled, with the ball sneaking through his bat-pad gap.

Sachin Tendulkar opined that batters would fare better with more decisive footwork. The 47-year-old explained that a bigger stride forward narrows the gap between the bat and the pad.

“If you get a nice stride forward while defending, then your hands stay close to your body. When your stride is not nicely stretched forward, then your hands tend to go away from the body, towards the ball. I would say that getting a good stride forward can help a lot of players,” the legend said.

India would try and implement these changes, and get back to winning ways in the remaining three Test matches in Melbourne (Dec 26-30), Sydney (Jan 7-11), and Brisbane (Jan 15-19).