O’Keefe breaks 13-year-old Oz jinx
NEW DELHI: Before the start of the series between India and Australia, all the talk was centered on how Australia would succumb to the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Steven Smith’s team had not enjoyed facing spin. In India, they had lost seven consecutive Tests since 2008. In Asia overall, they had lost nine consecutive Tests
Heading into the series, the likes of former India captain Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh said Australia would suffer. Ganguly said, “Australia will find it very hard. They could go the 4-0 way as well.” Harbhajan, who had tormented the Australian batsmen in the past, taking 32 wickets to spark India’s sensational comeback series win in 2001, cheekily pointed out, “This is the weakest Australian side to tour India. If they play badly, they will lose 4-0.”
PREDICTIONS TURNED
In a stunning reversal, all pre-series predictions were thrown out of the window as Australia spectacularly turned the tables on India to inflict a 333-run thrashing. Steve Smith’s magnificent century, combined with Mitchell Starc’s cameo set the tone but it was Steve O’Keefe, the left-arm spinner from New South Wales, who stole the show with a haul of 6/35 in both innings to give Australia a historic win. The victory in Pune ended Australia’s 13-year wait in India. The last time they won a Test in India was in Nagpur, in October 2004. From then till February 25, 2017, Australia had endured 4508 days of pain in India. They lost eight of their next 10 Tests in India, seven of them in a row. However, Smith’s first match as captain in India has broken the jinx, halting Virat Kohli’s unbeaten streak as skipper at home at 13.
FIRST HOME LOSS
The Pune loss is Kohli’s first at home as captain while India suffered their first loss in a Test at home since 2012. This was Kohli’s third loss as captain, and it ended his 19-match unbeaten run since the Galle Test in August 2015. Australia’s win was possible because of the lion-hearted effort of one bowler whose selection drew criticism. At 32, O’Keefe has provided an exhibition of bowling that will be remembered for a long time. Steve O’Keefe finished with match figures of 28.1-6-70-12 in the Pune Test. His record haul was the reason Australia ended their winless streak in India. His haul shattered several records and put him in an elite club of bowlers who have had success in India.