When you hope to bat through a day to draw a Test match, more than two batters need to get into double figures. And neither of them ought to give it away. In the end, there were some 12 overs remaining in the Melbourne Test, the new ball was due, and India had got it wrong. Again.

If it isn’t team selection, they get wrong the decision on winning the toss; if it isn’t keeping the flock together — Ashwin might be missed in Sydney — it is the struggling captain’s manner of reacting to situations rather than making things happen. If it isn’t loss of patience, it is stretching the improbable.

Virat Kohli, with a hundred in the first Test, looked like he had overcome some of his problems outside the off stump while making 36. Then the run out of Yashasvi Jaiswal when he was non-striker seemed to throw him. Skipper Rohit Sharma has looked thoroughly out of sorts. In a final throw of the dice he opened the batting, but returns of 31 runs in five innings at 6.20 beg for a cricketing call rather than a sentimental one.

Rohit or no Rohit, that’s the question

Captains have been dropped from a Test in the middle of a series before, and if Rohit plays in Sydney (starting Friday), sentiment would have triumphed over form once again in Indian cricket. To lose him and Kohli for a Test that India must win is risky. At stake is the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and a place in the final of the World Test Championship. Kohli is less of a gamble.

The only argument for retaining Rohit would be that vice captain Jasprit Bumrah will otherwise have too much to do. The fast bowler is crucial to India’s chances. Rohit has lost five of the his last six Tests, but dropping a captain is never easy. Nor is it easy to lead effectively when your own form is in tatters.

What a fabulous match Melbourne unfurled! There is much to admire in skipper Pat Cummins who brings to his job enormous skill in all areas of the game, along with great dignity. Australia have benefitted from his composure at all times.

Were we watching the future of Test cricket when teenager Sam Konstas was going berserk getting to his half century? As the General said of the charge of the Light Brigade, it was magnificent but it was not war, it was madness. His match-up with Bumrah is evenly poised after the carnage in the first innings was followed by a reminder in the second that attack based on defence is more lasting than the reverse.

While Australia discovered a batter in the top half of the order, India found one in the lower half. Nitish Reddy had already displayed the temperament and skill to top score in four of his first six innings but hadn’t gone beyond 42. Now he made up with an innings of character and certitude.

But did all the hype that followed, the media attention on his family, his past and his reunion after the innings rob the lad of some of his focus? All encomiums well deserved, of course, but probably ill timed? There was still a match to be won or drawn. The management, Gautam Gambhir and others should have protected him.

Jaiswal dismissal issue

Those looking for single causes and conspiracy theories for the defeat have latched on to Jaiswal’s dismissal off an attempted hook in the second innings. Rohit admitted that Jaiswal had got a touch and was out. The right decision was made even if the process was wobbly. Will a third umpire give a batter not out after viewing a spike on the Snicko because that’s what his eye tells him? Eyes can deceive, technology can fail. Still, it was silly of a senior cricket board official to shoot his mouth off.

As India prepare for transition, the outlines of the future are becoming discernible. Bumrah is closing in on Bhagwat Chandrasekhar series record of 35 wickets which has stood for five decades. He will be the bridge between generations. This means the choice of vice captain who will give Bumrah the occasional break and lead India in the next decade will be a crucial one.

Nitish Kumar Reddy of India A bowls during the internal practice match between India and India A at the WACA on November 15, 2024, in Perth, Australia.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

In a city suffused with warm sunlight and nippy air, and above all, the inimitable tales about fast bowling, Morne Morkel strode into the press-conference hall at the Optus Stadium on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.

This grand venue may not have the history associated with the nearby WACA Ground which owned the tag of having the world’s quickest pitch, but the new entrant’s drop-in playing surface is expected to offer pace and bounce when the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy commences here on Friday.

It is a fact that Morkel, former South African pacer and current India bowling coach, is acutely conscious about. “Coming into this tour, we are probably under pressure, especially with our past performances. But it is important for us to put that aside and look forward. When you come to Australia, you want to do well. This is where you make a name for yourself. As a group, we are excited for the challenge, we know this wicket is going to be fast, bouncy, and it’s up to the individual to formulate their plans,” Morkel said.

Pace battery

Asked about how he deals with young fast bowlers like Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna, Morkel said: “It’s great to have them and they add a lot of variation, especially Harshit, he bowls at a good pace, finds a way to extract some bounce. Prasidh has had a bit of experience now with India, but for Harshit it’s a bit of an unknown. When I toured for the first time here, playing in Australia, it’s an intimidating place, but for me it’s just about staying in your own bubble and finding those experiences, working them out for yourself. Harshit is obviously here for a reason, has the skill, the talent, and just has to keep working hard and knock that door down.”

Morkel also praised seamer Nitish Reddy: “He is one of the young guys who has got that sort of batting all-round ability. He will be a guy who can sort of hold one end up and he hits the bat a little bit harder than you think. In these conditions where there might be a little bit of seam movement, he will be a handy bowler, very accurate. It is a lovely opportunity for him to fill that all-rounder spot. He is a player you can keep your eye on in this series.”

With Jasprit Bumrah stepping in as skipper while Rohit Sharma is away on a paternity break, Morkel praised the Indian spearhead’s leadership acumen: “Jasprit is a guy that immediately put his hand up and wanted that leadership role. He has been very successful here in the past. In the dressing room, he speaks well. And he is a guy with the ball in hand, who will lead from the front.”

Morkel added that young batters can learn a lot from Virat Kohli, and equally the bowling coach expressed satisfaction over Mohammed Shami’s return to First Class cricket in India, following a long injury lay-off.