Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra was critical of the recent performances of batsmen Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer and said that time is running out for them and both of them have one more knock to go before things take a turn for the worse for the young batting duo. India will take on England in the second Test in Visakhapatnam. Both Gill and Iyer once again failed to impress, throwing away their wickets after a decent start for 34 and 27 runs respectively. This continues their recent poor form in Test cricket.
Aakash said on his YouTube channel on Friday, “Time is running out very fast for Gill and Iyer. They have one more knock and I really hope they score runs because if their next knocks don't go well, the problems will increase. ” grave for them both.”
Aakash noted that Shubman got a fine start, which he squandered while Iyer's footwork was not at its best against pacers.
“Shubman Gill got a start. He certainly played a bit aggressive at the start but then he got three ahead in the two overs from James Anderson. The third lead also went to the keeper and he got out. He wasted a good start. 34 runs will not be enough,” Chopra said.
“Shreyas Iyer also delivered a disappointing performance. The way he moved didn't inspire much confidence. That's not how you usually move against a fast bowler in Test cricket.”
“He was moving a lot even though there wasn't much pace in the short balls and eventually he got out. You can say the ball stayed a bit low and he was a bit unlucky, but he wasn't stable on the crease.” he concluded.
Since the ICC World Test Championship against Australia in June last year, Gill has scored just 207 runs in 12 innings at a poor average of 18.81, with a best score of 36.
Gill is at number three and scored just 223 runs in seven Tests over 11 innings at an average of 22.30, with a best score of 47.
Iyer has also fallen flat after a fine start to his Test career. In his last seven Tests and eleven innings he scored just 158 runs at an average of 15.80, with a best score of 35.
The match saw India end the first day at 336/6, with Yashasvi Jaiswal unbeaten on 179 in 257 balls, with 17 fours and five sixes, along with Ravichandran Ashwin (5*). Knocks from Gill, Iyer, debutant Rajat Patidar (32) and Axar Patel (27) provided decent support for the southpaw.
Debutant Shoaib Bashir (2/100) and Rehan Ahmed (2/61) dominated the opening day with their spin bowling, preventing Indian batters from making the most of their fine starts.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article