Former India batter Robin Uthappa believes that a fight can be put up on a pitch like the Boxing Day Test surface at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in the ongoing Ashes series 2025/26 if a batter has the right technique.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Uthappa gave examples of how Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara handled fierce Australian bowling attacks in the past.
“See, it’s a dichotomous situation. It’s not like it’s an impossible wicket. There are such wickets in Melbourne which are very juicy for fast bowlers… I think it’s because of the way cricket is played today. I feel like these pitches are unsporty, but if you have the right technique and the right mindset and the fight in you, you’ll be able to figure out a solution for this kind of a wicket also. It’s not a high-scoring game, but it’s not… It won’t be a 300-plus game, but even a 250 on this wicket is possible. You gotta fight it out. Play it like Puji and Ajinkya Rahane. Definitely, you’ll score runs.”
Pujara was the highest run-getter of the series held in Australia in 2018/19, scoring 521 runs in four matches at an average of 74.43. In the 2020/21 series, when India made a comeback after being bowled out for 36 in the second innings of the first Test, Pujara showed grit and scored 271 runs in four matches, while Rahane scored 268 in the same number of games.
Uthappa also criticised Joe Root for his approach at the MCG. The England batter scored a duck in the first innings, followed by just 15 runs in the second innings.
“I am saying this with a grain of salt because the way we’re playing Test cricket has now changed. I don’t enjoy it a lot, like Ashes Test matches that finished in two days. What are we doing to the sport for entertainment? Joe Root too lost in that Test match. He didn’t know how to play, play attacking cricket, or play his own way in the second innings. It was quite unfortunate… I empathise with them,” he added.
Also read- Ashes 2025/26: “Not the body language of a Test-match bowler” – Broad on Atkinson
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