India’s batting effort quite poor, application and patience required were missing: Kumble

Guwahati: Former India captain Anil Kumble was critical of the hosts’ batting display in the ongoing second Test against South Africa, terming it as ‘quite poor’ and lacking the necessary discipline, application, and patience.

“I felt India’s batting effort was quite poor. The application and patience required in Test cricket were missing. While there were some good deliveries, the batsmen didn’t seem prepared to endure tough spells or play session by session.”

“It seemed like the aim was to chase runs quickly, which is unrealistic in a Test match where 489 runs need to be built gradually. Respecting the opposition bowlers and their spells is crucial, but India didn’t show enough of that resilience,” said Kumble on JioStar.

Moreover, the dismissals of B. Sai Sudharsan, Dhurv Jurel, and skipper Rishabh Pant in the space of 13 balls can be summed up as brain fade, as left-arm fast-bowling all-rounder Marco Jansen took 6-48.

“Marco Jansen bowled exceptionally well, putting India under consistent pressure. When he started bowling bouncers, which can be tricky given his height and awkward length, India appeared unprepared to either leave or take the blows. That approach is essential in Test cricket to survive challenging spells, but unfortunately, it was lacking in India’s approach today,” added Kumble, who coached India from 2016-17.

He also went on to laud South Africa’s clinical dominance over three days in the second Test. IANS

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