The moment the Indian team was shot out for a mere 36 in their 2nd innings on the sunny morning of 19th December, the ghost of “4-0” and “whitewash” came back, haunting the fans.
Looking at the scoreboard some ten years down the line, people would express it as domination by the Aussies on the visitors. But as Virat Kohli himself told in the press conference, it was only that first “hour” of the play in which the dramatic collapse took place. India was ahead by the end of the 2nd day, but just within 40 minutes of the game thereafter, the game was all but lost.
Now it’s time to take that loss as one bad dream and get ready for the upcoming Boxing Day test match at Melbourne. There are some areas, though, where the Indian team think-tank needs to do some work.
The absence of Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli has traveled back to India as part of his paternity leave, so it’s now all upon Ajinkya Rahane to make a name for himself in the 2nd test match. 3 years back, in a competitive test series at home against Australia, Rahane led India to a victory in the final decider as Virat was injured after the Dharamshala test.
However, here is a different story where you go to Melbourne after being bundled out for your lowest test score in history. Apart from that, Virat Kohli against Australia brings different energy altogether in the field. Ajinkya Rahane needs to bring back that energy and intent if India wants to level the series.
Another big problem is who can replace the “batsman Virat Kohli”. Analyzing the squad, it should be KL Rahul to get the opportunity. Undoubtedly, there will be additional pressure on him as he was dropped in the Adelaide Test. But this is the time for him to step up and make a permanent name for himself in the Indian test XI.
Mohammad Shami setback
The Indian team was possibly prepared to play the 3 test matches in Virat Kohli’s absence as the leave was confirmed even before the tour had started. However, it will be challenging for the visitors to have that bowling attack now with the absence of Mohammad Shami, given the fact that he got injured and retired hurt during India’s disastrous 2nd innings.
The Indian team management has options too in the form of Navdeep Saini and Mohammad Siraj. Given the stats, Siraj holds a slight edge over the youngster from Haryana. Siraj has also bowled well in the practice matches leading up to the test series, and it seems he will get the opportunity to have a crack on the hosts.
The batting order conundrum
The absence of no.4 batsman in ODI was felt at the crucial semi-final of the 2019 world cup. After 1 year, the problem seems to have gone more in-depth with the absence of their best batsman. With Prithvi Shaw’s batting flaws getting exposed in the 1st test, I feel a replacement here is imperative in Shubman Gill’s form.
Looking at his stats, he really has good scores for India A in West Indies and New Zealand. His technique also allows him to get extra time to play some batting shots, which is very important while playing in bouncy pitches.
Bring back Ravindra Jadeja
Trailing 0-1 in the series, India needs to play with five bowlers. Ravindra Jadeja can be a good option as apart from bringing variation in the bowling department, he can also score valuable runs lower down the order. His job will be to assist Wriddhiman Saha/Rishabh Pant and then, if required, anchor the tail to score crucial runs. This was one department where Australia outclassed India by scoring 112 runs for the last 5 wickets compared to India’s mere 48 in the 1st innings.
India has won three test matches at Melbourne (1977, 1981, and 2018), the most for any venues in Australia. That can be one of India’s motivations as they march on the Boxing day test match field.
Cow Corner 