India’s first ever series win in Aus was bigger than world cup - Really?
The test series win against Australia in Australia was surely a matter of pride. After all, never in the history of Indian cricket was such a feat achieved. Despite that I’m not convinced with the brouhaha over it.
Our Series Win
So, we did it! Our first series win against Australia in their own backyard.
Back in 1999, I remember getting up in the mornings almost scared at the thought of playing Australia in a Test in their own conditions. Besides Sachin Tendulkar, there weren’t any players of considerable repute at the time. Ganguly and Dravid had just come in (about two years) but this was their first tour down-under. We were blanked 3-0 with Sachin being the only player from India to have done well. He was the highest run-scorer in the series.I remember the decision to announce him as the Man-Of-The-Series didn’t sit well with the Aussies. I don’t know if I agree with that decision either but his was truly the most remarkable performance in the series, albeit in a losing cause.
After that series, we have improved, of that there is no question. With at least a win or a draw in each of the series that followed the 1999 tour. This performance in 2019 is surely the hallmark, our best performance without a doubt but let’s get the elephant out of the room - two of the most prolific batsman Australia (probably ever) in Warner and Smith weren’t playing. Let’s analyse this a little bit:
We won the first test match by 31 runs
Australia won the second by 146 runs
We won the third by 137 runs
The last test was a draw predominantly because of rain
The Difference:
In my opinion, the first match was the difference maker as the second and third tests went - one to our side and the other to theirs almost by the same margin. Assuming Warner and Smith had played and I know hindsight is 20:20, do you think the result would have been different?
I think the result of the first test, at the very least would have been different. What would’ve the scoreline been if the odds were reversed,India losing by 2-1 ? It would have been another lost opportunity much like our tours of a full strength SA (with ABD, FAF,Philander) and England (with Root, Anderson,Broad).
I understand the result of the test series against England (which we lost by an unfair margin of 4-1) was not a true reflection of what happened and Root even acknowledged that in a chat immediately after the 5th test with Kohli. It sure was closer but the difference between the two sides was England’s never-give-up attitude and our new-found weakness of not being able to finish off the tail. I’m not sure if we can confidently say that we have taken giant strides in crippling the opposition or cleaning up the lower-order either. Australia got as close as they did in the first match because of their lower order who never gave up. It is this latter quality of Australia that almost convinces me of our defeat if they Australia had the services of Warner and Smith.
If Australia were to win in India when we are without Kohli and Pujara, would you think of it as huge? I know I wouldn’t. This is the thing with statistics, they tell you a lot but they don’t tell you everything.
Kohli and Shastri have said that this is their biggest win ever, including the ODI World Cup victories which they were a part of in 2011 and 1983 respectively. Something about that just doesn’t sound right.
I think its the emotion of finally have gotten there for the first time in 70 years and their subconscious literally telling the whole world “Don’t forget, we got here first”.
It’s almost like their legacy would be defined by this win and they want to be remembered for this especially when they weren’t captain of their respective sides in 1983 (Kapil Dev) and 2011 (MS Dhoni).
I would love to know if they would still call this series victory their biggest win ever if India go on to win the 2019 ODI World Cup (which most likely will have Warner and Smith).
The Positives:
Our fast bowlers:
The biggest positive that has come out of our cricket this season has been the emergence of our fast bowlers. Bumrah, Ishant, Shami, Bhuvneshwar with Yadav playing a supporting role.
The number of overs they have bowled and the fitness levels they have maintained (minus Bhuvi who was out injured for a little while) is truly commendable and the comparison with the great West Indian fast bowlers is not an exaggeration (although the quicks from windies created an aura based on their consistency to find such bowlers for an entire era). I wish and pray that we find such bowlers when our current quartet has played their time.
Cheteshwar Pujara:
Pujara has clearly taken his game to another level. His ability to bat, bat and bat is probably making Australia think - how do we find a player who wears the baggy green to possibly bat like this? No Smith or Warner can match the style of a Pujara. His ability to grind and concentrate for long periods of time is truly unique and equally commendable.
The negatives:
Our Openers:
Our openers issue still hasn’t been resolved. We thought we’d open with Shaw and Rahul - two-aggressive Aussie like batsman who love the ball coming onto the bat. Unfortunately, Shaw got injured and Rahul is clearly not the player that played the IPL 2018 (or even when he came on the Aus tour last time when he got a hundred in only his second match) . .
We were almost forced to stick to Rahul and Vijay (who is clearly past his prime and most likely would hang his boots in a year or so) .. Then came Mayank Agarwal !
The way he played, he reeked of confidence, self-belief and courage.
Given, that he has only played two test matches so far but he has shown that he belongs at the top level. The Australian bowling with their menacing pace bowlers and their shrewd off-spinner is quite possibly the best in the world (with the only other comparison being India) and to have made your debut here in trying circumstances was probably one of the main reasons we won the series.
Vihari’s performance shouldn’t be discounted, he survived about 20 overs and allowed the Kohlis and the Pujaras to have formidable partnerships in the third test. That really shifted the tide in India’s favor however it looks like Vihari’s elevation to being an opener was a stop-gap arrangement as he was immediately replaced with Rahul in the next match when Rohit Sharma was unavailable (I think him leaving after being conveyed the news that he had become a father was unprofessional unless of course his wife or daughter’s life was in danger. This was the series decider after all).
It seems like the way-forward would be Shaw and Mayank . . BUT there are some problems.
Shaw is yet to be tested in foreign conditions, Mayank is just two matches old, Rahul is not even half the player he was, Vijay is nearing retirement and is big time out-of form, Dhawan is a flat-track-bully.
Where is the stability?
Spinners:
Who exactly is our #1 spinner?
I’m talking about away series where in most cases, you can only play one. Ashwin is clearly not because he can barely remain fit. He breaks up at the drop of a hat - we saw it in SA, England and Australia. Is he only restricted to showing his magic and top fitness standards in India when he’s picking a bucket full of wickets? Jadeja is great, bundles of energy, ability and discipline but he’s someone, like most finger spinners, needs the pitch to help him. Kuldeep Yadav is good and is a very different type of spinner but not currently at the level to be our #1 spinner.
I understand that its always horses-for-courses i.e. we will pick the spinner based on conditions but the question of being #1 spinner has to be sorted fast especially when playing outside of Asia.
Inconsistency of our #5:
Rahane has blown hot and cold this whole season.Don’t recall him scoring a century in a very long time now.
An odd inning here and another one there is not enough. Needs to be more consistent. It seems like he no longer knows what his game is or what to do. The third test, where he scored an impressive 70 and another fifty before that, saw a very different version of him. It was almost like Rahane was trying to break the shackles and intentionally be aggressive because didn’t know any other way to claw out.
Warner and Smith:
Warner would have replaced Aaron Finch and Smith either Shaun Marsh or Travis Head (or both based on how good Smith is and how susceptible Marsha and Head looked).
In my honest opinion, India played really well to take 70 wickets this series and we owe most of those wickets to our pace attack but if Smith and Warner were around, I don’t think the result would have been the same.
Add that to our issues with the openers, the lack of a #1 spinner, our inconsistent #5, our clear inability to finish off the tail - What do you think the result would've been?
To rank this series’ win above our ODI World Cup victories is definitely an exaggeration and was said in a state of emotional euphoria.
Case Closed.
