New Delhi: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar was critical of Indian bowling attack's inability to get lower-order wickets over the years stating that its a "familiar story" of lacking an alternative plan.
Indian bowlers today conceded 258 runs for the last four wickets with Australian pacers Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc helping themselves with strokeful half-centuries.
"It's a familiar story as it happened in New Zealand also. What I found out was lack of Plan B when Plan A is not working. They seemed to have a plan to bounce Mitchell Johnson but the ball then was 70-odd overs old. Remember, Johnson has a Test hundred and Indians allowed him a (good) start," Gavaskar told NDTV today.
When asked that similar tactics had worked against Brad Haddin, Gavaskar said,"That's what I am saying. If the tactics is not working you need to try something different. And there's where India lacked Plan B. Bowling bouncers at 135 kmph to Johnson as the ball only came upto his waist and not to his shoulders.
"The Indian team has been tactically found wanting in New Zealand, South Africa and now over here. The thinktank needs to analyze whether they are only making strategies for the the top-6 with no plans for the lower order batsmen. If they are going to concede 500 runs in every innings, questions need to be asked."
Gavaskar didn't agree that Indian batsmen have made a good comeback in the second innings despite finishing the day at 71 for one.
"India are still 26 runs behind and they need to focus hard in order to bat well. Their job is to focus on scoring runs without bothering about anything else," said Gavaskar.
