India outclass Australia again
I fondly remember the blog I wrote when my favorite cricketer Rahul ‘The Wall’ Dravid retired. I mentioned the famous Eden Test match against Australia (no memoir about Rahul Dravid could be complete without the mention of this test match) and compared it to Sholay – something that happens once in a lifetime. When I wrote that, I was pretty sure that chances of being able to see something like that in my life as a cricket fan remain bleak. Boy, how wrong was I!!!
India achieved a remarkable feat by being able to beat Australia in their den for the second time in succession. In 2018-19, cricket pundits (I mean ex-cricketers from Australia) were quick to state that it was a second-string Australian team that was beaten 2-1 by India (should have been 3-1 but for the persistent rain in Sydney) but could they, or someone else for that matter, come up with an excuse now?
Secondly, while we as Indian cricket fans are all delighted as how India won the series and beat Australia 2-1 after losing the first test (36-all out will now be remembered for all the right reasons), I believe a lot of us have overlooked the enormity of what was achieved today. Scoring 324 runs on a day 5 pitch against a very good Australian bowling attack requires some really special skill and will.
To begin with, India started this game with a collection of 11 fit men who could take the field and don the Indian jersey. But as soon as I noticed the playing XI, I could not stop admiring the courage that was on display. The series is tied, the forecast shows rain, so normally teams would try to strengthen their batting line-up and hope that they can escape with a draw. This is what Indian teams have done in the past and it is only since Kohli took charge that there has been a tendency to play 5 bowlers, which has also helped in the emergence of genuine all-rounders in the form of Pandya and Jadeja. So, perhaps the foundation of playing attacking cricket was laid in 2014 even though it meant that in the current scenario, India had to hand debuts to players who had stayed in Australia to bowl in nets.
Batting wise India had a decent combination – Rohit and Gill at the top, the rock solid Pujara at 1 down, Rahane at 2 down, Mayank and Pant, Sundar and Thakur, and lastly three bowlers i.e. proper tailenders. It was debated if the team management made an error by selecting Sundar in place of the much-experienced Kuldeep (who happens to be the only one who did not get a game on this tour) but the justification was that Washington offers some support to the lower order. I actually did not really buy this argument, and am so happy that I was wrong.
As India started to bowl on day 1, it was clear that despite the inexperience, there will be no dearth of effort and this attitude allowed India to stay in the game despite losing Saini to an injury and a couple of dropped catches. The score read 274-5 at the end of the day with Paine and Green occupying the crease and looking good to take the team to a 400-plus total. However, throughout the day, the Indian bowlers stick to their task and never let the batsmen off the hook. As the day finished, it was clear that the bowlers have kept India in the game and a fresh burst on the following day might keep Australia under check. This is indeed what happened as Australia was reduced to 315-8 on day 2, and some swinging of the bat by Australian tailenders took them to 369 – the highest total in the series by either side. Again, 369 is a good total, not enormous but something that simply cannot be overcome without some serious contributions from the opposing batsmen.
When India came out to bat, all eyes were on the opening combo of Rohit and Gill who had held India in good stead in the previous test in Sydney. Gill had a rare off-day and was dismissed soon but Rohit continued to flourish until a miscue off Lyon brought down the fall of his wicket. Whether the shot was reckless or simply an expression of aggression that did not materialize could be debated but needless to mention, it did put India on backfoot as they ended the day at 62-2.
When play started on Day 3, it was obvious that the contest between Indian batsmen and Australian bowling will decide the outcome of the series. Cricket fans had pinned their hopes on Rahane (after his century at MCG), Pujara (the rock-solid anchor at 1 down) and also on Pant who was coming off with a stupendous 97. However, after being reduced to 186-6 with all the batsmen getting starts and somehow throwing it away, India found two very unlikely heroes in Thakur and Sundar. The duo batted with such freedom and style that you would be tempted to believe that somehow, we had travelled back in time and were watching Ganguly and Dravid making their debuts in Lords. This was THE phase when the game swung in India’s favor. Before that, it was all about trying hard, staying in the game and ensuring that you do not fall behind too much but this 123-run partnership ensured that India’s first innings total was in the vicinity of Australia’s total, and this made the entire test series a two-innings two-days affair. As I mentioned before, some of the shots Thakur and Sundar played were stylish but the one I would not forget and narrate to my grandkids is the slog-sweep by Sundar off Lyon, and then not even bothering to look where the ball ended.
At this point, I started to see similarities between Adelaide 2003 and this test, the script was more similar than dissimilar. In Adelaide, India had managed to come very close to Australian first innings total after being reduced to 84/4 at one stage (thanks to Laxman and Dravid), and then Agarkar ran through the Australian innings (not to forget a couple of special wickets by Tendulkar – brilliantly caught by Dravid in the slips) to set up a very gettable target. So, basically, I was hoping (read praying) that someone would run through the Australian batting line-up in a similar fashion. That seemed to be hard as Australia started very positively with Warner getting his mojo back and the openers really wanted to force the pace that would allow the Australians to declare and give ample time to bowl India out. However, from 89 for no loss at one point, Australia were soon 123-4, thanks to the never-say-die attitude of the Indian bowlers and this meant that Australia could not really risk going on an offensive (lest they lose all their wickets in the process) and also slowed down the pace of scoring. Smith batted well for his 55, was supported by Paine and Green but the reluctance of Australia to declare (which never came despite the weather forecast not being so promising) clearly meant that Paine knew his team had not scored enough to even ensure a draw, forget a win.
Eventually, Australia were all out for 297. Mohd Siraj got his maiden fifer while Thakur took 4 wickets, and this was yet another superlative bowling performance because test wickets are always hard to get and have to be earned. Rohit and Gill showed up to open the Indian innings but play on day 4 was cut short, meaning that India needed 324 on the final day to win.
Before I talk about day 5, I would briefly mention that at the end of day 4, the overall outlook regarding this game as far as India’s chances were concerned was rather pessimistic. Ponting declared that there are enough overs, the pitch is misbehaving and that the Indian resistance will eventually give way to an Australian victory. I remember reading the headlines on cricinfo which stated that Australia needs 10 wickets on final day, as if an Indian win was never a realistic possibility.
India started the day 5 as they chased history (no team had successfully chased 200+ at this venue) and it was after all, the Australian fortress that had not been breached in the past 32 years. As Rohit departed quite soon, the chances of an Indian win also received a jolt because Rohit is a free-flowing batsman and with him around, there is an assurance that the score board would keep moving. His dismissal bought Pujara to the crease who has received plenty of flak in this series for his slow batting but he simply does not seem to care. He just comes, and blocks and ties one end up even if that meant taking blows practically everywhere on his body. On the other hand, we had the pleasure of watching Gill who is clearly the find of the tour. He made plenty of runs but more importantly, he looks so comfortable as he bats and scores at a brisk pace (something that has not happened since Sehwag left the scene). So, while Pujara was able to hold one end up, Gill was all style, class and runs as he got to his 50 in quick time. As the extended-session one ended on day 5, India had scored 79 runs, so at that point it was not clear if India was really going after the target.
However, all their intentions were made clear as India started the next session with a bang. Runs came thick and fast, Pujara was able to get a few boundaries and Gill seemed to get into some sort of overdrive as 20 runs came from an over from Starc. Gill was eventually dismissed by Lyon on 91 (what a pity that he could not get to a well-deserving hundred) but that did not seem to matter so much. Rahane came and played some shots and was dismissed for 24 but by then it was clear that India would either win or lose fighting but they simply won’t settle for a draw.
The dismissal of Rahane brought Pant to the crease and he has been a revelation in the past couple of games. Pujara and Pant kept the score board moving with an occasional boundary, signaling the intent and thereby putting the Australian bowlers under the pump. Pujara was eventually dismissed for a well-made 56 which brought Mayank to the crease. But by then Pant had gotten into his zone and it was clear that if he stays long enough, he would get India home. Mayank’s brief stay was not so fruitful but his departure was a blessing in disguise as this brought the first innings hero Sundar to the forefront. This was a game that he had bossed and how could India win without some finishing touches from him. While the entire batting line-up barring Rohit made meaningful contributions to this total (including Rahane because his brisk 24 had set the tempo), the partnership between Sundar and Pant was the one that took India home. At one stage, India had needed 53 off 10 overs that soon became 50 off 8. It was at this point that Sundar took over and hammered 11 off a Cummins’ over and this is where the game swung again. This was followed by another 15-run over and then it became apparent that it is a matter of time now. There were a couple of hiccups as Sundar gifted his wicket to Lyon (a needless reverse sweep) and Thakur did not last long either but Pant kept scoring and deservingly hit the winning boundary.
This was followed by wild celebrations and congratulatory messages poured in from all over the world. Vaughan who had prematurely predicted a 4-0 whitewash and conceded that he was wrong while the Australian coach Langer admitted that the lesson he had learnt was to never underestimate the Indian team.
Cummins deservingly won the Man of the Series award while Pant walked away with the Man of the Match trophy. For the second time in succession, Pant has produced an innings (that too in the fourth innings of a Test match) that has changed the course of the game. I hope he will also take this confidence to the shorter version of the game and translate his potential into some match-winning memorable performances. I also hope that Gill will continue to blossom into a fine opener and perhaps a number 4 batsman for the limited overs team.
I could go on and on but to conclude, this series has been a talent-unearthing operation for India and the returns have been very promising. The team stood up when they were down and out and nobody gave them a chance of competing, let alone winning. However, to compete in that manner and to ultimately emerge as winners is the stuff that legends are made of, and it has been a privilege for the Indian cricket fans to witness these memorable performances. Looking forward to the home series against England.
