Aakash Chopra. (Photo Source: Twitter)
Former India opener Aakash Chopra slammed India for their underwhelming performance in the 2023 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final. India lost to Australia by 209 runs on the final day of the one-off Test at The Oval in London. India underperformed in both the batting and bowling departments, conceding above-par totals and scoring below-par. Notably, this was their second defeat in the WTC final in a row.
While speaking about India’s defeat, the former cricketer pointed out that batting has been their problem. He added that one can say that it is not the bowlers but the batters’ mistake. The batters could have scored 400 runs if they batted first after winning the toss, according to Chopra.
“We know where the problem lies. Problem is not the bowling. If you see this match, there will be a slight recency bias. You will say that you conceded 470 runs and how are you saying that it is not the bowlers but the batters’ mistake, what can the batting do? The batting will score 400 runs and bat first after winning the toss,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
India had a good result in Test cricket in last five years: Chopra
The 45-year-old admitted that India have had a decent Test record outside Asia in the last five years. India have won 10 out of 27 Tests outside Asia.
“I will just tell you a stat and try to think about it slightly objectively. India have played 27 Tests outside Asia in the last five years of which India have won 10, lost 14, and three have been drawn. Winning 10 out of 27 is not a bad result because earlier we didn’t use to win,” he added.
Chopra then highlighted that the Indian batters have rarely put up a noteworthy total on the board. The 45-year-old added that in the 27 Test matches, India batted nearly 50 times and scored 400 plus total only five times. “How many times have the Indian batters scored more than 400 runs? If we talk about 27 matches, we have batted close to 50 times, and in that, we have posted a 400-plus total only five times.”