India’s “timid” and “defensive” batting approach in their second innings permitted England to get back in the saddle in the rescheduled fifth Test on the fourth day, figures former head coach Ravi Shastri.
Leading by 132 runs, India’s second innings collapsed for 245. Pursuing 378, England are presently only 119 takes off from the winning target.
“I think (it was) disappointing, to say the least, because they could have batted England out of this contest,” said Shastri.
“They needed to bat two sessions and I thought they were defensive, they were timid today, especially after lunch.
“Even after they had lost those wickets, they could have taken some chances. Runs were important at that stage of the game and I thought they just went into a shell, lost those wickets too quickly, and gave enough time for England to bat today.”
Shastri was the head coach of the Indian team back in 2021 when it had taken a 2-1 lead against England before the visit was canceled because of different instances of COVID-19 in the Indian camp.
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