Ind vs Aus 2nd Test: Did pacers’ lackluster show affect India’s attack?

In reply to India’s paltry first innings score of 180, Australian players batted brilliantly to score 337 runs with Travis Head scoring a blistering century of 140 runs on Day 2 of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide on Saturday. In the process, the hosts secured an important first innings lead of 157 runs.

Barring Jasprit Bumrah (4/61) all other pacers of the visitors lacked penetration and couldn’t impress with their bowling that affected India’s attack. Head took down the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana, giving Australia the edge.

In response, former India head coach Ravi Shastri has advocated for experienced pacer Mohammed Shami to be included in the squad for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

According to Shastri, pressure on batters significantly goes down when Jasprit Bumrah is taken out of the attack. He further said that Shami needed to be on the next flight to Australia to give the much-needed boost to the Indian pace attack.

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“The quicker Mohammed Shami reaches here, the better it is for India. He is playing a lot of domestic matches. You can see the pressure on the opposition when Bumrah is bowling and others are bowling. There is a lot of pressure on Bumrah,” said Shastri during a recent interaction.

Now, India have a herculean task on hand to save the second Test. The visitors had registered a thumping victory against the formidable hosts in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar series at Perth.