Former India captain and legend Sunil Gavaskar looked unhappy with the mode of Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal’s dismissal after both Indian openers failed to give the visitors a good start in the First Test in Adelaide.
Gavaskar seemed unhappy with the batting technique of the duo and said that the Indian batsmen are making a “huge mistake of leaving a bit of a gap between their bat and pad”. Gavaskar said that even a truck could have passed between Agarwal’s bat and pad.
Shaw, who was trusted to open the batting the visitors ahead of the likes of KL Rahul and Shubman Gill, continued his poor run with the willow. Shaw, facing just the second delivery was cleaned up by a good length delivery by Mitchell Starc, which angled away as the batsman dragged into his middle stump. Prithvi Shaw tried to drive the ball while his bat was away from his pads, got a thick edge that crashed into the stumps.
“Even today, have a look at where his bat ends. There is such a big gap between bat and pad. Just the second delivery of the game and you want to make sure that you are playing with soft hands. You are playing as late as possible. The whole idea in Test match cricket is that you don’t go there. Then you are leaving that much of a gap between bat and pad, allowing for any late movement, either to get an inside edge or snick between bat and pad,” Sunil Gavaskar told 7Cricket.
“The trick is to try and play as close to the pads as possible, which means your bat speed has to be minimal at the start of the innings. As you grow in confidence, yes then you go and play your shots. But at the start when you are not even off the mark, you want to try and reduce your bat speed. Don’t leave any gap between bat and pad,” Gavaskar added.
Even a Truck Could Have Passed Between Agarwal’s Bat & Pad: Sunil Gavaskar
Later, in the 18th over, Pat Cummins dismissed Mayank Agarwal for 17. Agarwal was undone by a delivery that moved in sharply after pitching and hit the top of middle and off stump.
“Well again, you can have a look at this. He’s (Mayank) played very hard at the ball, later on. This particular shot shows that the bat is close to the pad. It wasn’t. The ball snicked through there was such a big gap..a truck could have gone. A truck could have gone between that bat and pad. So that’s what the Indians are making a big mistake,” Gavaskar further said on Mayank’s dismissal.