Former India wicketkeeper-batter Surinder Khanna slammed India's strategy in the fourth Test against Australia and demanded 'fair play' from the visiting side after their 184-run defeat at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Monday.
Chasing 340 on the final day of the match, Indian batters once again failed against Australia's bowling attack as the hosts took 2-1 lead in the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
While India were chasing, India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal's dismissal was the talking point as third umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat overruled on-field umpire Joel Wilson with no conclusive evidence when the ball did not cause any disturbance on the Snickometer when it struck Jaiswal's gloves, but the video evidence showed some deflection on which third umpire had to make his decision.
The decision was not well taken by the Indian camp and also by former players as they criticized the technology for not fulfilling the purpose completely.
On the other hand, Khanna had a different take on that and suggested 'there's no point in making controversy'. He advised Rohit Sharma-led team to play fair cricket first to change the result of the match.
"There is no point in making controversy, they've shown it from four angles that the ball hit the gloves and its pace also decreased before Alex Carey caught it behind the stumps. Akash Deep also complained of a similar thing when he was caught out. 'Juthe log hai yeh', you have to play fair wicket first then only you'll start winning.".
It will just stay there in your hand because we're aware of edging. We have played bad cricket and lost. What kind of batting they're doing? When the IPL comes along, these players will just strike the runs. Don't play overly aggressive T20 cricket and look for positives. Let's hope the luck changes in New Year, though, for the team," Khanna told IANS.
After the loss in Melbourne, India's point percentage (PCT), though has dropped from 55.88 to 52.78 while Australia's PCT has surged from 58.89 to 61.46 as they inch towards their second successive WTC final appearance.
Earlier on Sunday, South Africa became the first team to qualify for next year's WTC final at Lord's. Defending champions Australia need just one win in their remaining three Tests-one against India and two against Sri Lanka-to secure their second consecutive final appearance.
India, however, can still qualify for the WTC final but they must win the final Test of the series against Australia in Sydney to tie the Border-Gavaskar series and then rely on the Aussies not winning a Test during their series in Sri Lanka that commences next month.
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