Former Indian cricket team skipper Sourav Ganguly was all praise for Ajinkya Rahane and Shardul Thakur for their resilient performance but he also took a sly dig at the top-order batters on Day 3 of the World Test Championship (WTC) Final at The Oval on Friday.
India were all out for 296 in their first innings but both batters scored half-centuries to keep them in the game. Ganguly said that they showed it to the dressing room how to bat on the surface and this can be seen as a "message to the top order". "They showed it to the dressing room that if you apply and have a little bit of luck then you will be able to score runs on this wicket.
Credit to Rahane, he was magnificent. Shardul got battered and bruised early on but he hung in there. He has batted well in the past in England and Australia.
It's a good fightback from India. This is a message to the top order," Ganguly said on Star Sports. Australia reached 123 for four at stumps in their second innings to extend the overall lead to 296 runs against India on the third day of the World Test Championship final.