Sunil Gavaskar Shared Batting Tips For Indian Batters Ahead Of 4th Test: The ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series has finally reached its last stage as the players of both sides — India and Australia, are gearing up to lock their horns in the 4th and final match of the series. In the ongoing 4-match Test series, the batters from India and Australia had trouble scoring against the spin bowlers.
In fact, in this series, which was dominated by spinners, only Indian skipper Rohit Sharma managed to make a century. Notably, although the batters found it challenging to deal with the spin challenge on the turning tracks in Nagpur, Delhi, and Indore, none of the three matches continued into the fourth day of play.
Sunil Gavaskar Recalled His Iconic Knock Against Pakistan
Ahead of the 4th and final match of the series, legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar has shared some advice with the Indian batters on how to bat against spinners on turning tracks.
Well, during his conversation with the Indian Express, Gavaskar explained the reason behind India’s struggle on the turner in Indore. He explained:
“The top hand guides the bat and the bottom hand decides the speed. So if you want to dead bat then the bottom hand has to have the slightest of holds on the handle. The top hand will bring the bat down as you want it, either straight or across the pads,” Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar Gave An Important Advice To Batters
Further, Gavaskar also recalled his iconic knock of 96 against Pakistan in 1987, which was also his final appearance in Test cricket.
In order to get closer to the ball, Gavaskar advised Indian hitters to “crouch like a wicketkeeper” and bend slightly. In order to prevent the ball from jumping up when defending off the back foot, he also advised them to hold the bat slightly higher and drop the bottom hand down near the bat’s shoulder. He said:
“Bending a bit helps you as you are closer to the ball, so to speak,” Gavaskar had explained. “Just like a great wicketkeeper who gets up with the bounce, a batsman, if he crouches just a little bit – not too low – where his head is more in line with the delivery angle, he would get to know which one to play. How far to go forward or is it better to go on the back foot. Standing upright does not give that advantage on turners. They would be able to meet the deviation and bounce better if you crouch a little like a ’keeper.”
He added:
“Javed Miandad is standing at silly point ready to take anything. A grip where you hold the bat a little bit higher is a big plus on such pitches. When you drive, you are more likely not to hit it in the air. When you are defending, you slide the bottom hand a little bit down towards the shoulder of the bat – particularly when defending off the back foot, you are making sure the ball doesn’t jump up,” he continued.
Meanwhile, the Indian cricket team will take on Australia in the fourth and final Test match of the ongoing four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at the Narendra Modi Stadium, starting on Thursday, March 9. As per reports, Ahmedabad’s pitch isn’t expected to be a turning track.
