Finding the silver lining amidst the errors at Perth

India lost at Perth by a fair margin but it wasn’t one sided at all, at least for first 3 & half days, but it was no secret that India was behind the game & had to do a lot of catch up since the 2nd session of the test match itself. That’s what happens when you leak over 100 runs for 1st wicket on a green deck. India was behind the game from that moment & they were going to be until they produced a miracle, which was always going to be difficult.

Selection Blunders

Before the match, there was a lot of talk about what India’s team combination will be. Rohit Sharma & Ravi Ashwin were ruled out from the team due to injury, so it was clear that there were going to be a couple of changes. The first probable selection was Jadeja or Vihari. India went with latter, maybe because he had an advantage in batting & they thought he will be good enough with ball. He did decent, both with the bat & ball. But bigger blunder, in my opinion, was going with Umesh Yadav. Looking at the pitch, most of us expected Bhuvneshwar Kumar to make way in the team not only because of his significant contributions with the bat, but also as a bowler, he offers excellent control & that was the most important thing on this pitch, but India went with Umesh Yadav. Umesh has been very inconsistent overseas & is either hit or miss. I was very surprised to see him in playing XI. He was poor throughout the match, constantly erring in his line & length and went for plenty. More on it here by my mate Charbel Coorey, who had written an article about India’s errors after the 1st day of test match itself.

Wasted first new ball

Australia scored 66 runs in 1st session of 1st day. But biggest victory for them was that they didn’t lost a single wicket. It was combination of some good batting & bad bowling. There was enough movement & bounce, but Indian bowlers failed to utilize it. Right areas weren’t being hit consistently. On a pitch where there is enough help for seamers, you have to bowl a lot fuller than Indian pacers did to get the more dismissals in play. Indian seamers missed that opportunity. This first session set the tone for Australia while India had to play catch up game throughout the test.

No Reprieve From Batting Woes

2, 0, 0, 20

vs 70, 50, 20, 25

This are scores of Indian openers vs Australian Openers. Their horror run had no plans of taking a break at Perth. Murali Vijay got a good bowl from Starc in 1st innings but his footwork was poor. So was his shot in 2nd innings. His batting partner KL Rahul looks shattered. Everything is going wrong for him. He looks short on confidence, is playing some bad shots & faults in his technique have been exposed very smartly by Australians. He got a ripper in 1st innings but his indecision cost him his wicket in next innings. Australians have been pegging away on the off stump vs Rahul & have been successful without having to worry much.

I think both openers have done enough to be dropped. They have been very inconsistent throughout the year except for couple of good innings by Rahul. Despite all this, if India play them at MCG & they fail again, team management will have none but themselves to blame. India desperately needs a change at top of the order.

Silver Lining

It wasn’t all wrong for India. For the most part of the match, India was still in the game, much to the credit of the skill level & fighting spirit of the players in the team.

• India comfortably lost the first session of the test, but they came back very well. Ever so impressive Jasprit Bumrah, who is one of the smartest players in the world cricket, in my opinion, was the spearhead of India’s comeback. Ishant Sharma who looked off in 1st session in terms of his line & speed came back well. Hanuma Vihari also bowled well & accounted for 2 important scalps.

• Previous Indian bowling attacks would quickly lose the plot once they lose a session and had a couple of things going against them, but this bowling attack kept coming hard relentlessly. It is the result of their skill set as well as the fighting spirit in them.

• India lost both the openers within 8 runs & first 5 overs. Pujara & Kohli were at the crease early like so many times this year. And they were very good. Pujara was rock solid & looked very secure. Kohli was tested by Cummins throughout his innings, but for the most part of his in innings, he was in full control. His strokeplay at the start of his innings was a treat to watch & were signs of him being in great form. Like so often, he made it big with a fantastic hundred. Ajinkya Rahane made his intent very clear since the beginning of his innings. He played quite a few rash shots at the start but settled down very nicely as his innings went on. His wicket in 1st over of 3rd day was a key moment in the match. Vihari & Pant made decent contributions. But after Kohli’s departure, Indian tail fell apart very cheaply.

• In Australian 2nd innings, Indian bowlers were right on the money. They were accurate, fast & hostile. They were brilliant in the first hour but did not accounted for any wickets. Much to their credit, they were patient. They kept pegging away & got their rewards. From thereon, except the partnership between Paine & Khwaja and last wicket partnership, Indian bowlers didn’t let anyone settle. Jasprit Bumrah & Mohammed Shami in particular were exceptional.

Final Words –

India lost the test by a good margin and they have no one but themselves to blame for that. They erred in selection & lost a couple of sessions by a big margin and you can’t afford to do all this in an overseas test, especially after losing the toss. To their credit, Indian Team was always in the game in first 3 innings, the result of some exceptional fighting spirit shown by immensely skilled Indian bowlers and their captain, who is batting on a different level & thrives on challenges thrown on him as a batsman, which has always got the best out of him.

India lost by a fair margin, but much like Australia after the first test, India is still in the game. They are still in the series !