Sunil Gavaskar has criticised Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja for chaotic running that almost cost India a wicket during day four of the Brisbane Test against Australia.
India started the day with an uphill task to avoid a rare follow-on. They were jolted early on as captain Rohit Sharma was caught behind for 10 off the bowling of his counterpart Pat Cummins. KL Rahul’s departure for a 139-ball 84 dented their hopes further. However, a fighting half-century from Ravindra Jadeja brought India within 51 runs of the target when Nitish Kumar Reddy was dismissed by Cummins for 16.
Siraj, surprisingly promoted to No.9 ahead of Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep, walked out next. He was involved in a mix-up with Jadeja while taking a run which drew the ire of Gavaskar on commentary. The incident happened on the fifth ball of the 62nd over of the innings. A seaming ball from Cummins hit Siraj’s pads before rolling into the vacant off-side region. Siraj left his crease in pursuit of a single. However, upon realising that Jadeja wasn't interested, a turnaround and a desperate dive followed. Luckily for them, Cummins’ throw was wayward, allowing the duo to run off the overthrow.
Josh Hazlewood, who walked off the field on day four of the Gabba Test due to a calf injury, will take no further part in the ongoing game either.
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The single meant Jadeja had only a ball to take back the strike, leaving the all-rounder frustrated. He seemed to be involved in a heated exchange when crossing Siraj in the middle of the pitch for the run.
Gavaskar didn't mince his words, slamming Siraj for his lack of "cricketing awareness". He was also not impressed by Jadeja's mid-pitch chat while taking the single.
"In the middle of the crease, Siraj is having a conversation with Ravindra Jadeja. What’s going on over here? There was no run in it. One ball is required. All you got to do is try and stick around. Then he looks to get it in a very casual manner. Look at that! They are having a little conversation and then that run is taken," he said.
"I think there got to be some cricketing awareness. You are a No.9 batter. You have got to try and face up to two deliveries for your team. You don’t take a risky single off the fifth ball of the over."
India’s experiment with Siraj didn’t work as the tailender perished for a run-off the next over from Mitchell Starc. Jadeja, running out of partners, started playing his shots in an attempt to lessen the deficit before falling for 77. The visitors eventually avoided the follow-on, courtesy of an unbeaten 39-run stand for the last wicket between Jasprit Bumrah (10*) and Akash Deep (27*) before bad light resulted in stumps. They currently trail by 193 runs.
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