India’s poor performance in the second innings of the fourth Test against Australia in Melbourne has been criticized by former players and experts. The main focus of criticism was the batting unit’s inability to learn from past mistakes, especially Rishabh Pant’s poor shot selection, which turned the game in Australia’s favor. This happened when India had just one session left to survive for a draw.
The batting lineup was shuffled, with Rohit Sharma opening the innings, KL Rahul moving to No. 3, and Shubman Gill being dropped. However, the changes didn’t bring any improvement. Apart from opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored two half-centuries, India’s specialist batters failed to deliver.
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali questioned chief coach Gautam Gambhir and his staff’s strategies while analyzing India’s 284-run defeat on Monday. He commented, “Well done, Gautam Gambhir saab. In ODIs, you talk about the left-right combination, but today you should have sent Nitish (Reddy) at No. 6. Even if he got out early, at least it would have shown some effort.”
He further added, “I don’t know who the batting coach is, but they don’t seem to know how to guide players on surviving tough situations or playing specific bowlers.”
India was bowled out for just 155 runs in their second innings, losing the last seven wickets for 34 runs. The collapse began with Rishabh Pant’s reckless shot. Pant (30) fell into a trap set by Australia captain Pat Cummins.
With Pant and Jaiswal forming a partnership of 88 runs, Cummins brought on part-time spinner Travis Head, hoping Pant would attack him. That’s exactly what happened. Pant played a careless shot and got out, giving Australia the breakthrough they needed.
Basit Ali remarked, “The team played very poor cricket. Australia planned brilliantly, didn’t give up, and believed in themselves.”
He compared today’s players to those from the 1980s and 1990s, saying, “Batters from those eras could understand the opposition’s plans quickly. If a bowler like Head came on to ‘buy’ a wicket, those players wouldn’t have got out like that. Even if they attacked, it would have been a safe, grounded shot.”
He strongly criticized Pant, saying, “Rishabh Pant made the same foolish mistake. He went for a six. What happened? Who suffered? The country and the team.”
Basit concluded by saying, “That shot changed the entire match. God has given us a brain—use it!”
With this win, Australia now leads the series 2-1, heading into the final Test in Sydney, starting January 3.
