Sunil Gavaskar's Clear Opinion of India's Loss to Australia: "Lack of Confidence..."

About

     The legendary Sunil Gavaskar on Friday came down harshly on the Indian hitters for their below-par effort in the third Test against Australia, claiming the "pitch played on their minds." 

     In a crushing nine-wicket victory on the third morning, Australia advanced to the World Test Championship final after India was knocked for 109 and 163 on a pitch that from the outset offered sharp turn and varying bounce.

What they said

     "Batters actually didn't do their talent justice. If you look at the Indian wickets, you'll see that it was the Indian batters who got themselves out, playing certain strokes expecting what the pitch was going to do," Gavaskar said to Star Sports.

     "If you look, there is a lack of confidence because, with the exception of Rohit Sharma, who scored a beautiful century in Nagpur, they did not score in the first two games. There is just a hint of hesitation in their batting when you are low on runs. Moreover, you can tell that they were grieving for the deliveries," he said.

Overview 

     Gavaskar claimed that after choosing to bat first, India fell 60–70 runs short in the first innings. "The pitch began to talk within the first hour, so it wasn't going to be simple, but if we had scored 160–170 runs in the first innings, that may have been the deciding factor," according to the great batsman.