"We don't need this kind of approach" - Saba Karim questions India's batting on Day 3 of 2nd Test vs Bangladesh

Saba Karim has questioned India's tentative batting approach in their second innings of the final Test against Bangladesh on Saturday (December 24).

KL Rahul and Co. stumbled to 45-4 by Stumps on Day 3 while chasing a 145-run target. The Indian batters were extremely cautious in their approach, scoring less than two runs per over in the 23 overs they faced.

While reviewing the day's play on Sony Sports, Karim cited Shubman Gill's example to highlight that batters' timid approach has put India in a tight spot, elaborating:

"The biggest thing is that the difficulty we have currently, we have put it on ourselves. We don't need this kind of approach. The way Shubman Gill plays, he plays shots easily after stepping out, today he was stepping out but defending."

Karim pointed out that the likes of Gill were not on the lookout for runs when dancing down the track, observing:

"The confidence to play shots was not seen. Before this, whatever knocks he (Gill) has played, he used to step out and play drives. You can get singles there, and you can hit boundaries as well."

Gill was stumped off Mehidy Hasan Miraz after scoring a painstaking seven off 35. Cheteshwar Pujara was also left stranded down the track by the off-spinner, with Nurul Hasan effecting another stumping.

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"I still believe India should win this match" - Saba Karim

Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant are the frontline batters yet to bat in India's second innings. [P/C: BCCI]

Karim reckons India should win the game but added that a couple of early wickets on the fourth morning could put the visitors under immense pressure, saying:

"Nothing of that sort was seen from the Indian batters because of which a lot of pressure has gotten mounted on India at the moment. I still believe India should win this match, but if one or two wickets fall in the first session, the pressure will increase further."

The former Indian wicketkeeper-batter added that the visitors should have learned the approach to be followed on the bowler-friendly track from earlier partnerships, explaining:

"India should have taken learnings from their first innings and the partnerships in Bangladesh's second innings. Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant had a fantastic partnership in the first innings - they scored 5.5 to 6 runs per over. The run rate was close to five in the partnership between Litton Das and Taskin Ahmed also."

Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer strung together a 159-run fifth-wicket partnership in 30 overs in India's first innings. Litton Das and Taskin Ahmed added 60 for the eighth wicket in less than 13 overs in Bangladesh's second innings.