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The Indian team could only manage to cross the 200-run mark three times in the five-match Test series against Australia, which concluded on Sunday.
Sourav Ganguly slams Indian batters performance in Border-Gavaskar Trophy. (Picture Credit: PTI, AP)
Former Indian men’s cricket team captain Sourav Ganguly, who also served as BCCI president in the past, slammed Indian batters’ performance in the recently concluded five-match Test series against Australia, which India lost with a scoreline of 1-3. India won the series opener in Perth by 295 runs under Jasprit Bumrah’s leadership, but the hosts bounced back and went on to win the second, fourth, and fifth Tests played at Adelaide Oval, Melbourne Cricket Ground, and Sydney Cricket Ground, respectively. Aussies hammered India by 10 wickets in the pink-ball Test, which finished inside three days, and won the last two matches by 184 runs and 6 wickets, respectively.
In the 2024-25 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Indian batters could only manage to score more than 200 runs in an innings on three occasions, and it proved to be one of the major reasons for the team’s first Test series defeat against Australia in 10 years.
Ganguly, who toured Australia multiple times during his 12-year-long Test career, said that the batting unit needs to step up big time for India to win Tests consistently.
“We did not bat well; we have to bat well in Test cricket. If you do not bat well, you will not win Test matches. If you score 170, 180, you cannot win Test matches. You have to score 350-400,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by India Today.
“No one can be blamed. Everyone has to score runs,” he added.
In the five-match Test series, batting superstar Virat Kohli could only manage to score 190 runs in nine innings. The 36-year-old was dismissed eight out of eight times while attempting to play a shot on the ball, which was bowled outside the off stump line.
Ganguly was surprised by Kohli’s recent off form, but he expressed confidence in the veteran of 123 matches and said he will overcome it. “I don’t understand. He is such a great player. But I am sure he will overcome this problem.”
Kohli’s poor performance with the bat in the last two Test series has raised a lot of question marks over his place in the Indian Test side. With India’s next red-ball series in June, it will be interesting to see if the right-handed batter manages to retain his place.
