On the first day of the World Test Championship final, the Indian team won the toss and chose to bowl against Australia, led by Pat Cummins. Despite making early breakthroughs, India faced a formidable challenge from Travis Head and Steve Smith, who unleashed powerful batting displays, giving Australia a strong advantage.
With three wickets down for just 76 runs, Smith and Head counterattacked the Indian bowling lineup. At the end of day 1, Smith remained unbeaten on 95 runs from 227 balls, while Head achieved an impressive 146* runs from 156 balls. Observing the Indian bowlers’ below-par performance, bowling coach Paras Mhambrey expressed his opinion that they lacked discipline, resulting in conceding more runs than they would have preferred.
“Our bowling could have displayed greater discipline. We started off well, bowling in the right areas during the first 12-13 overs. However, our discipline wavered afterward, leading to conceding more runs than we would have liked,” Paras Mhambrey stated in an interview with India Today.
He further added, “The pitch offered some assistance in the morning, with a bit of seam movement in the first hour. As the day progressed, the pitch became flatter than our initial expectations.”
