Former Pakistan cricketer launches scathing attack on Indian coach Rahul Dravid’s tactics in World Test Championship Final

Former Pakistan batter Basit Ali has lambasted the Indian cricket team for their performance in the ongoing World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval. Ali, who played 19 Tests and 50 ODIs for Pakistan, declared the match a foregone conclusion at the toss itself when Indian captain Rohit Sharma chose to bowl first in the overcast conditions. 

India had an encouraging start to the game as they had Australia in a spot of bother at 76/3, but phenomenal counter-attacking batting from Travis Head and sedate innings-building by Steve Smith got wrested control back in their favour. Both Aussie batters scored centuries as Australia racked up 469 in the first innings before their bowlers ripped into the Indian batting lineup.

In a similarly precarious position at 71/4, half-centuries from Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur showed a semblance of a fightback. Still, it was barely enough to avoid the follow-on as India were dismissed for 296, conceding a lead of 137.

The Indian bowlers had an encouraging start to the Australian second innings as well but the enormity of the task ahead of them keeps increasing with every run scored. At the end of Day 3, Australia sit 296 runs ahead with six wickets in hand, and Ali feels that only a miracle can help India save the game.

Ali explained on his YouTube channel that India lost the match the moment they chose to bowl at the toss based on only the first two hours, saying that the bowling was just like the IPL. He said that the Indian bowlers were looking as if they had won the match by lunch on Day 1 ad now they can only hope to get them out cheaply in the second innings and hope for a miracle in the fourth innings. He also added that during the 120 overs that India were fielding, only 2-3 players - Rahane, Kohli, and Jadeja looked fit while the rest looked tired. 

He went on to criticize the role of Indian coach Rahul Dravid, saying that he was a huge admirer of him as a coach but was not impressed at all by his managerial skills and tactics. He went on to point out the difference between India’s turning tracks and Australia’s bouncy wickets, ending with the barb “Jab upar wala akal baant raha tha toh pata nahi kaha pahaado ke peeche chhupe huye thhe” (He was hidden away behind the mountains when God was handing out brains).

India have a monumental task ahead of them if they are to win te World Test Championship final as the score that they will have to chase in the fourth innings is already more than the highest-ever successful chase at this ground.