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ShareIt was terribly disappointing to see the way the Pakistan top-order flopped on the opening day of the Kotla Test.
There were no signs of the Pakistanis applying themselves when they were at the wicket. They have frittered away the advantage that they had gained by winning the toss.
The importance of Day One of the opening Test of a series can never be overestimated. A team that wins the toss, especially under such conditions -- and knowing the history of this venue so well -- must make best use of them, especially since it was in favour of the batsmen.
But Pakistan today did not seem to have a clue as to what to do after the toss. It was as if they had decided that, yes, if we win the toss we will bat, but it was a blank from there on.
What I would like to know is what the coach, the captain and the support staff are doing?
If there was any sort of planning, it was not very evident by the way the top order refused to get to grips with the job of putting runs on the board.
There should have been some discussions about the wicket, the conditions, on how to tackle the different Indian bowlers under these circumstances. But I am sorry to say that this did not seem to be the case today.
It is well known that on a Kotla wicket, the ideal way to go is to bat once. Bat well, bat deep and get plenty of runs on the board before cutting your bowlers loose.
That also implies an understanding of the conditions -- knowing that the ball will keep low, that there will be some swing. But if the team management and the top-order batsmen cannot read the wicket, then there is something wrong.
Again, four of the eight wickets that fell today went to the spinners. Let us not forget that this is the first day of a Test match.
