Why didn’t Pat Cummins declare and put India into bat on day 4? Ravi Shastri and Michael Vaughan share views

Australia have edged their way into the Christmas Day Test with a fine batting display from their tailenders. It was an excellent performance by people like Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyonand Scott Boland, who formed vital partnerships to save their team from a sticky situation.

However, it also looked like Australia might have missed the chance to put India under pressure by declaring their innings with a few overs to go on the fourth day. Former cricketers Ravi Shastri and Michael Vaughan shared their thoughts on Pat Cummins’ decision.

While Ravi Shastri predicted the reason Australia didn’t declare, Vaughan believes the Indian openers could have been under pressure in the final minutes of the day if they had come out to bat.

Read also: ‘Many people doubted me’: Nitish Kumar Reddy credits father for success, silences critics

Ravi Shastri explains why Pat Cummins didn’t declare it

While speaking on Fox Sports, Ravi Shastri claimed that India will be happy not to have batted in the final overs as they are a tricky period to face after a long day on the field.

“They’ll be happy not to bat tonight. It’s a different ball game when you’ve been on the field all day to play those last 20 minutes or three or four overs. It’s a completely different atmosphere when you come back tomorrow,” said former coach of India.

Ravi Shastri also believes that Australia are aware of India’s young batsmen who are capable of chasing down any target on their day and hence Pat Cummins wanted to give them as many runs to chase as they can.

“You’re fresher and you know if you bat on the day you can get the score or save the game. It also tells you that Australia are a bit wary of India. They’ve chased results in the past and they’ve got the batsmen who if they come in they can score the difference,” Ravi Shastri added.

India has already pursued big goals in the past. One of the most famous chases came at the Gabba during India’s Test series in Australia the last time they toured under a Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

“You just have to look at the psychology” – Michael Vaughan

But Michael Vaughan had other ideas. He feels that India could have been put under a lot of pressure if they had batted in this tricky situation. Vaughan claimed India captain Rohit Sharma is out of form and Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped three catches on the day, which could have been enough to put them under more pressure.

“You just have to look at the psychology; Rohit Sharma would come in first under huge pressure. Then you have Jaiswal who has had a surprise on the field. I think both players would be very happy to leave the MCG tonight and come back tomorrow,” explained Vaughan.

Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped three catches on the day, two of them being relatively simple chances. Dropped catches have already cost India and Jaiswal would look to make amends with the bat tomorrow.

Australia with a slight lead on the 4th

Meanwhile, Australia look to be ahead of the game with their lead already stretched to 333. Their last wicket pair will look to add as many runs as they can on the morning of the 5th and come out fresh and attack the Indian batsmen.

The last over pair of Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland have already added over fifty runs for the final and have put Australia in a good position. Skipper Pat Cummins also scored a fine 41. On the other hand, India need to get out of their skins to get closer to the target.