Four thoughts on the Adelaide Test
Australia have won the 1st test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy by 48 runs, after the Indians were all out for 315 in the final innings. Here are my thoughts:
1. India need to think about David Warner and Nathan Lyon
David Warner is in the form of his life and has scored 5 hundreds in his last 8 innings in Test Cricket. With Chris Rogers already in dodgy form, Australia will depend on Warner to provide solid starts. India needs to keep a check on the southpaw, else with his attacking batting style, he will end up running away with the game again and again.
Nathan Lyon bowled superbly to claim the same number of wickets as the Indians put together claimed in the match. Adelaide was surely the most favorable venue for him out of the 4 chosen in this test series and he made the most of it by bowling accurately. Brisbane has traditionally had more pace friendly pitches and therefore his role in the Australian line-up will probably diminish. However, India still needs to be vary of him as some Indian batsmen did not look at ease while playing him. Pujara in particular, looks vulnerable against off-spin.
2. Virat Kohli - The batsman and the leader
Virat Kohli's rise over the past 5 years has been phenomenal and this test is surely a big leap towards proving his test credentials. His batting in the 1st innings was solid and in the 2nd innings was imperious on a Day 5 pitch. This 141 was no doubt one of the great 4th innings knocks scored by any Indian abroad. His intent and determination was great to watch.
As a leader, Kohli walked the talk by playing aggressive cricket as he had promised before the series. His 4th innings hundred was a testimony to this attitude and I loved it. I will refrain from judging Kohli as a tactician (on-field captain), not just because I missed a decent amount of India's bowling, but also because it is early days. If I read his lips correctly, he said 'Believe' to Mohd. Shami, who Kohli walked past after getting out. This is why I loved him as a leader.
3. The aggressive mindset - Was it to blame?
People have blamed the dismissal of wicket-keeper Saha (and India's loss) on the aggressive attitude that India tried to play with. Critics mentioned that playing for a draw is not a bad idea and staying 0-0 with 3 tests to go is better than being 0-1 down. Obviously, 0-0 is a better scoreline for India than 0-1, but to blame Saha's dismissal on the attitude might not be accurate. I sincerely doubt any batsman, even if told to play aggressively, would have played that shot after scoring 15 runs in the over. Saha's stroke was a rush of blood in my opinion.
I can't think of a single batting line-up in world cricket today which would chase down 364 in 98 overs of the final day of a test match more than once in 5 chances. Not many teams would have dared to play in this manner and we nearly pulled it off. That, in my mind, is remarkable. In ODIs, India is probably the best chasing side and has made it a habit to consistently chase down targets of over 300. With this attitude, India can slowly make it a habit to chase down big targets in tests as well.
4. Why we lost - Umpiring? Bowling? Batting?
Poor umpiring was one of the key reasons according to some twitter people I follow. While there were a couple of bad decisions on Day 5, Cricket will always have that human factor(and it should). Unfortunately, umpiring standards in Cricket have continued falling of late, but India cannot disagree to have DRS and at the same time, make a fuss over bad decisions.
The main cause of concern has to be the bowling line-up which managed only 12 wickets. Umesh Yadav needs to come in and hopefully, bowlers bowl with a lot more control than they did in Australia's 1st innings.
Having said that, there is absolutely no doubt that India losing 8 wickets in 1 session is not excusable. Vijay and Kohli played India into a solid position at Tea, with 159 runs needed off 37 overs. From thereon, India should have won or drawn the test, at the very least. Hopefully, this will act as a lesson learnt and India will win the next time an opponent sets a 4th innings target like this.
