Two figures stood out at the end of day three.
First, 4,502. That’s the number of days it took for Australia to win a Test on Indian soil after their last win here in 2004-’05. “Coming here, we were told those facts again and again. It has been an incredibly long time, and it is a great challenge to win here. But the boys were up for it,” said a jubilant Steve Smith after his side completed a 333-run dominant win.
And second, 19. India’s unbeaten run in Tests dating back to Colombo on the 2015 Sri Lankan tour is over. “Everybody assumed we wouldn’t lose another Test. It doesn’t work like that, and we knew that the unbeaten run would end sometime. It is just another international game, and it is no big deal,” said Virat Kohli, trying to downplay the loss.
The latter’s words are a bit surprising. It was during that 19-match run that India rose to the No 1 ranking in Tests. It is no mean feat, for this team had duly earned this status through hard toil and sweat. They had gone through a painful transition at home, and then endured defeats on back-to-back overseas tours. This climb atop the world rankings was a fruitful product of that learning stage. And this young team ought to take pride in their stature.
After the sucker punch delivered on day two then, Saturday in Pune was about reflecting on their same pride, and delivering a performance that was worthy of a No 1-ranked team. If Australia had sent across a message on Friday that belied their underdog status in this series, then India needed to respond in a manner befitting the champion side they claim to be. Simply put, they did not.
‘Spinners bowled very well’
In the post-match press conference then, Kohli refused to blame his bowlers. “I think our spinners bowled very well. The batsmen didn’t apply themselves. It is not that their spinners bowled better, because even a part-timer can take four wickets if you don’t apply yourselves,” he said.
There is a paradox here. Even the bowlers do need to apply themselves, and get the basics right. And for a majority of this Test, the Indian spinners were second best to their under-rated counter-parts. On the one hand, Australian spinners didn’t give an inch – a simple conclusion made from India’s struggling scoring rate in both innings. On the other, the Indian attack gave away 142 runs in the morning session of day three, that too when Australia were four-down overnight.
It is very easy to blame the Indian batsmen, and indeed they should be apportioned nearly 90% of it. The rest, though, has to come down to the bowlers, in particular the spinners. Watching Steve O’Keefe and Nathan Lyon adjust their lengths in the first innings, and triggering two Indian collapses thereafter, it begged the question – why, just why, couldn’t the Indian spinners do the same in the second Australian innings?
Kohli defended his spinners by saying that the “mindset changes when you concede such a massive lead in the first innings”. The validity of his point isn’t debatable, but India’s execution of plans is. On Friday, they tried too hard and dropped four catches. Coach Anil Kumble even described it as a bad day in office. What does it take, though, for the world’s No 1 side to come back the next morning with renewed vigour and a point to prove? What does it take for the world’s two top-most ranked spinners to adjust their lengths and attack the batsmen a tad more?
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja started off proceedings in the morning, and bowled unchanged for 12 overs. They gave away 39 runs, but could etch out only one wicket. For a majority of that exchange, Smith and his partners – Mitchell Marsh and then Mathew Wade – were content with playing the waiting game. They knew it was India’s go-to plan to take wickets and make a comeback into the match. Once the prime spinners were taken off, Australia scored 103 in the next 29 overs until lunch.
That barrage of runs broke the camel’s back. Sure, from the time Australia took a 150-odd lead, India were always going to chase a target worth at least 275-300. But there is a huge margin of error in ending up with a target of 441. With eight sessions remaining as the second Indian innings started, there was only one result possible. Kohli knew and understood this, even if the most optimistic fans didn’t.
Same excuse again?
“In the second innings, it was all about intent and trying to get some runs,” he said. “With such a high target, the bowlers always have room to make mistakes, because they can always come up with that one good ball.” Again, much like Kumble’s “bad day in office” remark, this was a simple explanation. But the world’s No 1 team cannot be afforded the luxury of an easy excuse twice in two days.
It can be debated that perhaps India were a batsman short, but it doesn’t take away from the repeated failure in judgement on part of the remaining five. KL Rahul must revisit his poor shot in the first innings, and then rethink his decision to use one last available DRS review in the second.
Murali Vijay seems to be fighting his inner devils again this season, blowing hot and cold in alternate series. He seems to have regressed in the sense that a continued good patch of form doesn’t seem on the horizon. Remarkably enough, it is a cause and effect of the unpredictability that has come about with India’s constant change in opening combinations.
Then there is Ajinkya Rahane, whose confidence looks shot at the moment. One bad series can do this to a good batsman, and one isn’t even talking about his poor return from the England series. His downcurve started when he endured a bad run against New Zealand in the ODI series, and his inability to pin down a spot in the limited-overs arena seems to have consequently affected his Test form.
Once again then, it came down to Cheteshwar Pujara and Kohli himself. The two have been imperious throughout this home season, but they can only do so much. In fact, it was Kohli’s dismissal that encapsulated India batting’s downfall. Looking for the ball to turn, he shouldered arms to a straight one from O’Keefe and it crashed into his off-stump, shattering the blind optimism of millions watching across the country.
“An error in judgement on my part,” he said. Kohli could have been easily talking about the entire Indian batting line-up’s exertions in this forgettable Test, which ended in two appalling collapses on consecutive days.