Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Vice-President Rajiv Shukla expressed his disappointment at the tourists' failure to win the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Shukla admitted that the batters' performance in Melbourne left him most disappointed, claiming he was hopeful India will win the marquee fixture.
All three results were possible on day five of the Test and India had worked their way to what seemed like a draw in the post-tea session. However, Australia sparked an epic collapse, claiming the remaining seven wickets in the final session to take a 2-1 lead in the five-Test series.
Speaking to ANI, the 65-year-old stated:
"Test ka parinaam niraashajanak hai, isme koi shak nahin hai. Jis tarah Perth Test jeete they aur Brisbane Test draw hua, mujhe ummeed thi ki Boxing Day Test mein jeet haasil karenge. Hamaare bowlers ne bhi accha kiya lekin batting line-up itna accha nahin kar paayi. Usme yeh match haar gaye. Paanchwe din laga draw karwa denge, lekin woh situation bhi nahin bani."
(The result was disappointing, no doubt. The way we won in Perth and drew in Brisbane, I was hopeful we will win in Melbourne. Our bowlers did well but batting line-up couldn't do as well as we'd hoped. We hoped to draw the game on day 5 but it couldn't be done either.)
"Yashasvi Jaiswal was clearly not out" - Rajeev Shukla
With opener Yashasvi Jaiswal given out by the third umpire on 84 following a contentious caught-behind decision, Shukla lamented the officials for not taking the call based on what the technology and tweeted:
"Yashasvi Jaiswal was clearly not out. Third umpire should have taken note of what technology was suggesting. While over ruling field umpire third umpire should have solid reasons."
