When Pakistan lost the first Test of their recent series against England, they reacted by dropping their best players, won the two Tests that followed and with that the series. It had seemed like a ridiculous thing to do, but it worked, although dropping the players was not the sole reason. Sometimes shaking up a team, and not just in sport, can lead to dramatic results.
Indians transition more gradually, partly because players’ past achievements allow them a longer run, and partly for the eternal hope in all sport that next time things will be different. Next time will be in Australia in less than a month. India’s squad for the five Tests looks like that of 2011-12 which saw the last gasp of a once-great team. India lost 0-4. Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman retired, and within months India had a new-look squad.
Virat Kohli who turns 36 in a week, skipper Rohit Sharma (37), Ravichandran Ashwin (38) and Ravindra Jadeja (who will be 36 during the tour) know that it is not Australia that will be the worry, but something far harsher and less forgiving — Father Time. We are at the cusp of change in Indian cricket with all the emotional and cultural drag that it entails.
Still in the fray
Eighteen home series without a defeat is a tremendous record, and cannot be rewritten simply because of the New Zealand shock. India can still qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC), but the path has got trickier.
Rohit’s “we are entitled to losing two games” is troubling because you can extend that to “three games, four games…” while arguing that India have been in the finals of both the WTC so far, and are thus entitled to not qualifying this time.
In Bengaluru, India fell to the seamers, in Pune to the spinners. The skipper decided the team would be aggressive while batting but defensive while fielding, a mixture that complicated issues.
There can be some excuse for being dismissed for 46 in the first Test, but virtually none for the 156 in the second. After the artificial high of beating lowly Bangladesh, this might be the necessary wake-up call. Often a poor performance itself is not bad if the response to it is positive.
Spun out
The last time India lost a series at home, to England in 2012-13, Mahendra Singh Dhoni led an ageing team too. Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha were outbowled by Graeme Swan and Monty Panesar, so preparing “home” wickets backfired then too.
Ironically, India’s spinners were criticised then for bowling at a slower pace than the visiting spinners while this time they faced flak for bowling quicker. Cricket can be a funny game.
India’s batters struggling against spin was a reminder of how little first class cricket they play at home. Washington Sundar, a last-minute inclusion, claimed 11 wickets and batted competently; he had played a Ranji Trophy game only the previous week.
Did India not take New Zealand seriously before the start of the series? That would have been unprofessional. Commentators saying India “bundled out” New Zealand for 259 jarred. It was picked up by the media. But as it happened, that was the highest total in the Pune Test!
As Mitchell Santner, hero of New Zealand’s Pune win with 13 wickets said, “We beat them at their own game. We outspun them and outplayed them in their own conditions.”
On two previous trips to Australia, India have outbowled and outbatted them in their own conditions. For India’s transition to gather pace, players like Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, leaders of the next generation must come good.
Australians have said consistently that they see Rishabh Pant as the danger man. No team that has Jasprit Bumrah, 30, leading the attack can be taken lightly. Bumrah will captain in at least one Test since Rohit is unavailable for personal reasons.
It might be tempting fate if India look too far ahead — they have the final Test against New Zealand commencing on Friday. Five teams can still qualify for the WTC final, which means that the concept of the dead rubber doesn’t exist any more. Every match is important.
Published – October 31, 2024 12:30 am IST
