Warner must break are to stop march
Adam Collins explains the improvements that the tourists will be looking at as the series in India hots up
You always have to assume the other guy is going to make the putt. Applying the spirit of that golfing truism to the all-consuming Border-Gavaskar series, Australia will know that India are only going to get better. The unknown? If they can, too.
After coming so close to wrapping up this series in straight sets, the challenge evolves into now identifying where Australia’s improvement can be found in order to go with the hosts as this tour gets longer and harder. Thankfully for them, there are some obvious places to start.
Firstly, David Warner. He has a problem and it goes by the name Ravichandran Ashwin. Nine times the world’s best tweaker has defeated the Australian opener, more than any other bowler in Warner’s 62-Test career. He was flummoxed by a beauty from over the wicket in the first innings at Bangalore, and trapped in front sweeping from around the wicket second time around.
The latter dismissal was instructive for Warner isn’t a sweeper. Not in the conventional sense in any case. It suggests that Ashwin, by now, is surely in his head. That the vice-captain averages 37.5 away from home, some 11 runs fewer than in Australia, won’t be lost on him either. In Asia, that number drops further, down to 32.6.
There are days when Warner begins an innings in his native land and you can safely predict within a quarter hour that he is going to tally a century or more. Quickly conquering this ongoing Ashwin issue, and whatever causes him to be more error-prone when away, is integral to restoring his imposing aura.
Peter Handscomb looked the man most likely to steer the fourth innings towards success at Bangalore. Badly let down by those around him, his footwork to spin is only matched by Steve Smith in the Australian top order.Yet for all the positive signs, he’s still only managed starts between 16 and 24 across four innings.
His method cannot be faulted, looking terrific in the toughest conditions of the series to date with the cauldron of Chinnaswamy Stadium at full volume, and Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja having the ball on the proverbial string. In short: it’s time for a matchwinning hand from the Australian No.5. He has the tools to build it.
Then there’s the wildcard. With Mitchell Marsh on his way home with an ongoing shoulder complaint, a vacancy opens at No.6 and no fewer than four players have
The latter dismissal was instructive, for Warner isn’t a sweeper. It suggests Ashwin, by now, is surely in his head