Indian players are seen after they were defeated by Australia on day three of the second Test in Adelaide on December 8, 2024. India’s travails with the pink ball continues.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

India’s travails with the pink ball under Adelaide skies got a second episode over the weekend. If the 2020 outing and the meagre score of 36 are inextricably linked, the second Test of the current Border-Gavaskar Trophy series moved towards another sobering defeat.

The highs gained from the Perth Test were frittered away in the City of Churches and even if Rohit Sharma hinted at keeping the faith, the teams will start level at 1-1 in the third Test at Brisbane from December 14. Perhaps, the latest bout of oscillating fortunes is in tune with the competitive zeal often seen when India and Australia lock horns in the cricketing universe.

However, Rohit’s men had the better of fortunes if the toss factor is taken into account. The Indian skipper called right, elected to bat and it meant that his batters had enough time under the afternoon sun before facing the pink ball under lights. It was all about digging in deep before finding their fruits of labour over the course of the Test.

Instead, a 180 was mustered while Mitchell Starc grabbed six wickets. K.L. Rahul and Shubman Gill were the initial anchors but they failed to convert promise into potential. The veterans, Virat Kohli and Rohit, too fell cheaply, and it was too much to expect the others to chip in, even if Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar and R. Ashwin added some runs.

Across three innings out of the four that India batted, both at Perth’s Optus Stadium and the Adelaide Oval, it was Nitish, stepping in at number seven, who top-scored with 41, 42 and 42. Except for the phase at Perth when Rahul and centurions Yashasvi Jaiswal and Kohli excelled, the batting mainstays have been lukewarm. “We need runs on the board,” Rohit said after the defeat here on Sunday.

The skipper is aware of the drought in runs, be it from his willow and from some of his batting colleagues. That Jasprit Bumrah and company were a bit skewed in their radars under lights on the opening day, cannot be denied either. But the reality is that more often than not in the recent past, it is the bowlers and a lower order that have held India afloat in the longer format.

Even as the bowlers tried to pull back from the second day despite Harshit Rana’s expensive overs, Travis Head’s superb 140 meant that Australia was truly ahead. A 157-run deficit and another middling second innings left India on the edge. It didn’t need much for the Australian openers Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney to nudge the visitors towards the abyss.

To hope that Bumrah will deliver all the time is a fallacy, and he too needs the cover of runs to make his stealth attacks from the bowling crease more effective. “You cannot expect Bumrah to bowl from both ends,” Rohit wryly said. As the Indians look ahead towards the third Test, one relief is that it was at Brisbane’s Gabba that Pant ushered in a miracle while India won the 2020-21 series at 2-1.

Mohammed Siraj reacts to Australia’s Travis Head after dismissing him on day 2 of the second Test in Adelaide on December 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

A glorious century marred by the manner of departure, was the theme when Travis Head squared upto the media here at the Adelaide Oval on Saturday (December 7, 2024) night. The southpaw’s 140 set Australia on a pedestal in the second Test, but talk centred around Mohammed Siraj’s send-off to the batter after castling him.

“I was surprised at the reaction in terms of the situation of the game and the lead up, and there was no confrontation leading up to it, and I felt like it was probably a bit far at the time, and that’s why I am disappointed in the reaction that I gave back, but I’m also going to stand up for myself. We are pretty civil with each other as teams and that is why it was disappointing to see a couple of reactions after I was out,” Head said.

Elaborating about his special hundred, the batter said: “Yeah, I was very pleased with the way I started. Very pleased with the way I was able to play against Ashwin. I guess at the start with the field up, I picked my moments and manoeuvred the field. And then sort of sensed where the game was at and I thought it was a great opportunity to put some pressure on before that new ball and try to maximise.”

The faithful, who congregated at the Adelaide Oval, relished the local hero’s exploits. Travis Head, back in his city, and against a familiar rival, turned on his aggressive mode. The southpaw’s blistering hundred held Australia in good stead as the second Test swung the host’s way in Adelaide on Saturday (December 7, 2024).

If Head’s 137 derailed India in the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup final at Ahmedabad, the latest 140 at his home ground, could help Australia spring back in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, in which Pat Cummins and his men trail at 0-1. At close on the second day, after Australia scored 337 in its first innings and gained a 157-run lead, India wobbled at 128 for five in the second innings and trails by 29 runs.

K.L. Rahul tried to pull one down the leg-side off Cummins and feathered the ball straight to Alex Carey. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill found the odd four but the former succumbed to Scott Boland’s nagging accuracy with Carey’s gloves again coming into play.

The same pacer-keeper combine got the better of Virat Kohli and when Mitchell Starc scattered Gill’s stumps, it was left to Rishabh Pant’s chutzpah to lend some cheer to the Indian fans. Pant often toppled over while scooping Boland over third-man and fine-leg while skipper Rohit Sharma after surviving a Starc questionnaire, lost his citadel to Cummins.

Earlier in an afternoon of bright skies and persistent breeze, Australia resumed at the overnight 86 for one. Opener Nathan McSweeney retreated in the day’s third over as Jasprit Bumrah bowled tighter lines and found his desserts. If McSweeney nibbled at one close to the off-stump, Steve Smith wafted at a ball down the leg-side and in both instances, Pant’s gloves were waiting.

Bumrah’s morning spell of 4-1-10-2 offered hope but the roar that greeted Head on his arrival, seemed to be a premonition of a dreary outing for the visitors. With Marnus Labuschagne being the eager beaver, and Head the marauder, Harshit Rana felt the scalding heat of the Aussie willows. The seamer lost his radar and the two batters cashed in.

R. Ashwin stepped in and Head, ever keen to mark his territory, hoisted a six. And Labuschagne motored towards his 50. The 65-run fourth-wicket partnership ended when Labuschagne slashed at Nitish Kumar and found a leaping Jaiswal. Australia 168 for four and perhaps nursing a good appetite ahead of the break.

After the intermission, Ashwin got one past Mitchell Marsh’s bat and the batter instantly walked. Meanwhile, Head punched, slashed, pulled and stepped out too, while Carey and Cummins played the supporting roles. After hoisting Ashwin for a six, Head’s repeat-act swivelled high but Mohammed Siraj could not hold on.

Having savoured the reprieve, Head charged towards his ton and the stands were agog with excitement. India pulled back through the new-ball and Siraj castled Head but the seamer’s obnoxious send-off to the centurion evoked boos from the audience. By then Head had set Australia on a good platform.

Scoreboard

India – 1st innings: 180 in 44.1 overs.

Australia – 1st innings: Usman Khawaja c Rohit b Bumrah 13 (35b, 2×4), Nathan McSweeney c Pant b Bumrah 39 (109b, 6×4), Marnus Labuschagne c Jaiswal b Nitish 64 (126b, 9×4), Steve Smith c Pant b Bumrah 2 (11b), Travis Head b Siraj 140 (141b, 17×4, 4×6), Mitchell Marsh c Pant b Ashwin 9 (26b, 1×4), Alex Carey c Pant b Siraj 15 (32b), Pat Cummins b Bumrah 12 (22b, 2×4), Mitchell Starc c Harshit b Siraj 18 (15b, 3×4), Nathan Lyon (not out) 4 (6b), Scott Boland b Siraj 0 (9b). Extras (b-13, lb-1, nb-7): 21

Total (all out in 87.3 overs): 337.

Fall of wickets: 1-24 (Khawaja, 10.6 overs), 2-91 (McSweeney, 36.1), 3-103 (Smith, 40.1), 4-168 (Labuschagne, 54.3), 5-208 (Marsh, 63.4), 6-282 (Carey, 76.6), 7-310 (Head, 81.4), 8-332 (Cummins, 84.6), 9-332 (Starc, 85.1).

India bowling: Bumrah 23-5-61-4, Siraj 24.3-5-98-4, Harshit 16-2-86-0, Nitish 6-2-25-1, R. Ashwin 18-4-53-1.

India – 2nd innings: Yashasvi Jaiswal c Carey b Boland 24 (31b, 4×4), K.L. Rahul c Carey b Cummins 7 (10b, 1×4), Shubman Gill b Starc 28 (30b, 3×4), Virat Kohli c Carey b Boland 11 (21b, 1×4), Rishabh Pant (batting) 28 (25b, 5×4), Rohit Sharma b Cummins 6 (15b, 1×4), Nitish Kumar (batting) 15 (14b, 3×4). Extras (b-5, lb-2, nb-5): 9.

Total (for five wkts., in 24 overs): 128.

Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Rahul, 3.5 overs), 2-42 (Jaiswal, 8.1), 3-66 (Kohli, 14.3), 4-86 (Gill, 17.2), 5-105 (Rohit, 20.5).

Australia bowling: Starc 9-0-49-1, Cummins 8-0-33-2, Boland 7-0-39-2.

Indian squad celebrate the victory in the first Border-Gavaskar Test match against Australia, in Perth.
| Photo Credit: ANI

It was a weekend of rain and runs for the Indians at Canberra. The warm-up fixture against the Prime Minister’s XI at the Manuka Oval was touted as the ideal base ahead of the second Test in Adelaide from Friday (December 6, 2024). A two-day tussle under lights and against the pink ball was also seen as a lens to understand how players were primed for the rest of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

In the end, damp skies washed out Saturday’s play while a kind sun and floodlights at night ensured a Sunday (December 1, 2024) contest with its facade of a limited overs skirmish but one that had the depth of a Test match. Among India’s leading stars, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and R. Ashwin, played no role while all the others had their turns either as a batter or bowler.

India won with ease and even tucked into the host’s courtesy and batted the full quota of 46 overs much after going past the winning tape. There were these little stories within perhaps a friendly battle. That K.L. Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal strode out as openers could be seen as a hat-tip to the combined form they revealed especially during their second outing in the first Test at Perth. But does that mean, a rejig is in order?

With Shubman Gill having recovered from an injury and batting well, he obviously slots in at number three, a position earlier strengthened by the broad willows of Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahul Dravid. If the past is a yardstick, then maybe Rohit will continue teaming up with Jaiswal atop the batting tree and yet the Canberra sojourn and the skipper’s meagre three from 11 deliveries, does raise some questions.

The Mumbaikar, all fluid sixes and rapid yields in ODIs, has a lone fifty in his last 10 innings from Tests. To be fair, he did try to dig in on Sunday before chasing one outside the off-stump. Till then Rohit looked his part at the crease. He has always put team over self, and never worries about statistical judgements. It remains to be seen if in the twilight phase of his career, he would go back to the middle-order, counter the old ball and be well set to tackle the new cherry.

Perhaps, with Prithvi Shaw losing his way, in a post-Rohit stage, a Rahul-Jaiswal combine may do the opening honours unless Gill moves up again. There is enough strategy to chew upon for the Indian management over the next few days. That Rohit and Gill are back in the playing eleven with Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel making way, is the presumed reality.

Kohli’s unbeaten 100 at Perth is a good sign and if Rohit can join forces, India will flourish for the rest of the series. Pushed into the opening slot, Rohit had prospered in Tests, maybe he will still do that against a tough rival unless a middle-order foray is what he and the management are looking at for now.