Former Indian batsman VVS Laxman has backed the Indian team despite their failure in the pink-ball Test at Adelaide Oval. Laxman said that a “crazy 70 minutes passage” does not give the fans the license to pass on the judgement to the Indian team.
Team India was in a well-placed command of the first Test after restricting the home team on 191 runs and taking a lead of 53 runs. But the hosts’ bowler ambushed the visitors by rattling them to 36/10 in their second innings.
The nosedive by the Indian team was their worst performance in the longest format of the game. However, Laxman defended the Virat Kohli-led side after the meltdown by stating, “What can I say that hasn’t been said of India’s meltdown in Adelaide? Watching the wickets tumble was surreal, each dismissal an action replay of the previous one. But we must not forget that as disappointing as it is for us to watch what unfolded, the players and the entire squad must be hurting badly,”
The same team had outclassed the Australian team in the 2018-19 Test series but this time around the same team surrendered in the first Test.
Laxman backed the players and said that these occurrences should not lead to undermining the capability of the players.
“This freak occurrence should not define these players, who have played and performed enough times in all parts of the world. I am not saying dismiss what happened, but it’s imperative to put it in perspective. India had scrapped for six sessions to get their noses in front, only for a crazy 70-minute passage to undo the good work,” Laxman wrote.
Both the teams will now lock horns for the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the Boxing Day (December 26).
