Gavaskar remembers legendary Pakistani performance in golden hint for Indian hitters in fourth Test | Cricket
Dinesh Karthik, a senior Indian batsman, remarked that India’s difficulty against spin was “glaringly clear” even during the series against Bangladesh last year but was only brought to light after the team’s failure in the third Test against Australia. India lost that match by nine wickets. The loss ended India’s chances of winning the series and prevented them from reaching the World Test Championship final. But as he reflected on his memorable 96-point performance against Pakistan, the legendary Indian batsman gave Rohit Sharma and company two great suggestions ahead of the fourth and final Test match of the series, which will begin in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
The legendary knock may have escaped the attention of 90s kids, but a video of it is still accessible on YouTube. In 1987, Gavaskar made his final Test debut against Pakistan on a minefield in Bangalore, where the opener had hit a brave 96 from 264 balls.
Gavaskar discussed why Indian batters struggled on that ferocious turner in Indore while talking with Indian Express, recalling that knock.
“The top hand guides the bat and the bottom hand decides the speed. So if you want to dead bat then the bottom hand has to have the slightest of holds on the handle. The top hand will bring the bat down as you want it, either straight or across the pads,” Gavaskar said.
Taking a leaf out of his own knock, Gavaskar came forth with a fascinating piece of advice – “crouch like a wicketkeeper”.
“Bending a bit helps you as you are closer to the ball, so to speak,” Gavaskar had explained. “Just like a great wicketkeeper who gets up with the bounce, a batsman, if he crouches just a little bit – not too low – where his head is more in line with the delivery angle, he would get to know which one to play. How far to go forward or is it better to go on the backfoot. Standing upright does not give that advantage on turners. They would be able to meet the deviation and bounce better if you crouch a little like a ’keeper.”
“Javed Miandad is standing at silly point ready to take anything. A grip where you hold the bat a little bit higher is a big plus on such pitches. When you drive, you are more likely not to hit it in the air. When you are defending, you slide the bottom hand a little bit down towards the shoulder of the bat – particularly when defending off the back foot, you are making sure the ball doesn’t jump up,” he continued.
According to reports, India and Australia won’t likely receive a warm greeting from Ahmedabad rank turner for the final game of the 2023 Border-Gavasakr Trophy series, when a record crowd is anticipated.
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