NEW DELHI: Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar weighed in on young batter Yashasvi Jaiswal’s unfortunate run-out during the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Speaking on Star Sports, Gavaskar explained that the mix-up between the India opener and Virat Kohli could have been avoided hadn’t the former spent his seconds watching the fielders.
“It would have been a quick run, and somebody like Virat Kohli would definitely have made it. But the thing was, he looked at the fielder. When you look at the fielder, when you turn, you’ve lost that vital second. And so naturally, you then think, ‘No, I want to be able to make it.’ Your balance is completely off. And it would have been a tight run. I think at that stage, why do you need to take a run that carries an element of risk? You’re batting well, runs are coming,” Gavaskar remarked.
“At that stage, the risk was not really necessary. But it could have been completed only because Kohli is such a fantastic runner between the wickets.”
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Before the run-out, Jaiswal had been anchoring the Indian innings brilliantly, amassing 82 runs off 118 balls with 11 fours and one six.
The talented opener seemed poised for a major milestone as he neared a well-deserved century.
However, disaster struck late in the day as a mix-up with Kohli led to his dismissal.
The incident unfolded when Jaiswal drove a full delivery from Scott Boland to mid-on and set off for a quick single.
Kohli, however, held back, momentarily ball-watching. Pat Cummins pounced on the opportunity with a direct throw attempt that missed, but ‘keeper Alex Carey capitalised on the chaos, collecting the ball and completing the run-out.
The dismissal proved costly, triggering a mini-collapse in the Indian batting lineup. From a strong position at 153/2, India stumbled to 164/5 by stumps on Day 2.
Nightwatchman Akash Deep fell for a duck, and the visitors faced a daunting deficit of 310 runs, with 111 needed to avoid the follow-on.