The most viral takeaway from India’s triumphant tour of Australia in 2021 was “Can’t wait to have you at the Gabba.” It was then Australian captain Tim Paine’s sled that went pear-shaped for him and his team. India won the famous series at the Gabba in Brisbane. That is the historic ground that India will now play the third Test in, hopefully it will again be welcomed with open arms. After India’s defeat in Adelaide in two days, the series is now tied at 1-1.
Adelaide feared what might happen in Perth. This raises fears that Perth was an aberration and Adelaide the norm. But Perth taught us not only about Indians’ bouncebackability, but also about Australians’ finesse. These are essentially two competing teams who are below-par in their batting, and have qualities that can be inconsistent. In recent times, not only India’s batting has been destroyed, the Australian Test team has also been badly affected. When the ball moves around, it cannot be said with certainty about any team that their batsman will weather. And as long as that weakness remains, the chain will remain open. Until a set of batting units is able to achieve consistency, the look may continue.
The Pink Ball Test came at the wrong time for India. The ball spinning at different stages and Australia having Mitch Starc, his swing and Scott Boland with his seam ability to take advantage of the situation with the right type of bowlers, poses different problems. Sometimes there was more swing, sometimes more seams, the Indian batting unit was struggling.
Add to that, their inexperience with the pink ball. Had this been a regular Test, India might have hoped to ride the Perth momentum, but they almost had to struggle in this match. They have room to resist, thrive and progress if the conditions are similar to what they faced in the second innings of the first Test. In difficult situations where the ball moves around, they have not shown up.
Australia’s Mitchell Starc celebrates after dismissing India’s Ravichandran Ashwin during the first day of the second cricket Test match between Australia and India at the Adelaide Oval, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Adelaide, Australia. (AP Photo/James Elsby)
It is not necessarily the speed or bounce that seems to unsettle them but the movement in the air or off the pitch that exposes them to vulnerability. It will be interesting to see what the Brisbane pitch looks like. Nowadays, apart from the pink-ball Test, Australia doesn’t have the tracks of the past, where the ball not only bounces sharply but seams around. Unless, in particular, curators leave in excess patches of grass.
Indian captain Rohit Sharma says, ‘Making runs is very important. That is not a matter of debate but a process to achieve. “We’ve had a lot of conversations about plans, and each batsman of course works out what’s best for them.” Different approaches were tried in the game; Some tried to defend, a couple tried to attack, but nothing effectual. Rohit himself, as a captain, may seem to be playing from memory when it hurts. He didn’t really stand much of a chance against the pink ball with the way his game stood at the moment and the kind of leadership he had in the game. Brisbane can make him better.
But what hurt India the most was that their own actions allowed things to slip into dangerous territory. On the first day, Australia’s bowling was not as sharp as it was later, and while the Indians made Australia’s work easy, conditions did not go their way. First, Virat Kohli’s slow innings, riddled with lapses in judgment, chasing deliveries he shouldn’t have played, and finally the uncertainty of whether to leave the ball or play, brought him in. Then Shubman Gill, who looked very good till that moment, played all. Around, rather casually, in full force. Suddenly from 69 for 1, India made 81 for 4 and then, Australia found a way to exploit the conditions. There’s no telling what they wouldn’t have got if Kohli and Gill hadn’t given away easy wickets, but the Indians opened the door.
India can look back on such small things. The selection of Harshit Rana instead of Akash Deep, whose bowling suits the skiddy pink-ball movement. “Rana did nothing wrong in Perth. He has Dil Aar Jigar (heart and grit), how can we drop him after one match, it won’t be fair,” Rohit said. Well, but considering he ditched Washington Sundar for R Ashwin, the same horse-course logic can be applied to Rana’s case.
Another thing these two Tests are teaching us is that if the batting is not good, the game can run away very quickly in Australia. Both games faded into a frenzy, their fate decided in an hour on the second day itself. Yet another lesson is that we cannot support or back-out any team – not yet, at least. It’s not like India picked up the pace after Perth. Likewise, it cannot be said that Australia now holds all the cards. Because of their batting weakness.
It can be expected that India will bring Akash to Brisbane but is unlikely to make any other changes. Australia will want to see Boland as a bowler to give him one more match to make the pink ball effective or bring back Josh Hazlewood. But essentially, the change will involve only one bowler.
The series is even-keeled in more ways than one. Australia has Travis Head; Rishabh Pant is in India. Australia has Mitch Mars; India Nitish Reddy. A bowling attack is in order if India bring in Akash (the presence of a fit Mohammad Shami might tilt it in India’s favor but they are still sweating on his fitness). It will come down to the other batsmen of both teams. And most importantly the Brisbane pitch, the Gabbatoir.