A win without Virat contributing with bat is creditable
India’s success in the Adelaide Test was a combination of Cheteshwar Pujara’s batsmanship, pacers’ accuracy and Kohli’s captaincy
For just the second time in 12 tours, India lead Australia 1-0 in a Test series. On both occasions the victory that claimed the lead was in Adelaide; the latest one gained by hard grafting cricket.
India’s recipe for victory was based on the mixture of Cheteshwar Pujara’s obstinate defiance and the accuracy and relentlessness of the bowling attack. The bowlers were backed by a capable performance from Rishabh Pant with the gloves.
The fact that India gained a hard-fought victory without a major contribution with the bat from Virat Kohli will just add to the sweetness of the triumph.
I have often said the difference between the average Indian and Australian fan is simple. If Sachin Tendulkar makes a hundred and India loses the fans are still happy. If Ricky Ponting makes a duck and Australia wins their fans are still happy. On this occasion, the Indian fans should be celebrating as this was a win for the ages despite Kohli’s failure with the bat.
Kohli’s captaincy in Adelaide was reminiscent of Ponting’s time at the top; he was conservative in his approach but achieved the desired result. Captaincy is a very subjective vocation and as long as the team wins, I doubt Kohli will be concerned with anyone else’s opinion.
ISHANT OUTSTANDING
The biggest revelation in India’s victory was the improved performance of the fast bowlers. They pitched the ball fuller than on previous tours and were relentlessly accurate. No bowler epitomised this more than Ishant Sharma whose consistency in both those areas was a far cry from previous tours. Now he needs to attend to his no-ball problem.
The Indian pace bowlers also had great success with the shortpitched delivery. On a surface that didn’t deteriorate much and contained very few demons even in the fourth innings, they did well to remove Peter Handscomb, Travis Head and captain Tim Paine with well directed bouncers.
A large part of that success -in the case of Handscomb and Head -- was the surprise element. It’ll be interesting to see the bowlers’ approach with Perth looming and the prospect of a pitch that contains both more pace and bounce than Adelaide.
BATTING WORRIES
The Perth pitch will also be a challenge for the Indian batsmen who, Pujara apart, didn’t cover themselves in glory in Adelaide. In particular both K L Rahul and Rohit Sharma did nothing to dispel the notion that they too often concede their wicket far too easily for batsmen of their talent. Pant also needs to capitalise on his talent and not continue to fall back on the excuse of “that’s the way I play”.
For their part the Australians will be happy with the fight they showed but disappointed in the end result.
The fast bowlers will be better for the work out and will be buoyed by the prospect of a favourable surface in the next Test. The batsmen still have plenty to prove and will be chastened by the creditable way the lower order performed in the run chase.
On the score of changing the order for Perth, it would be a slight on the batsmen to do this after one Test. It would also send the signal to India that they were successful in their Adelaide approach.
Having gained the upperhand in the series, India need to be aware of what happened in 2003-04, the last time they enjoyed this sort of supremacy. They comfortably lost the next Test at the MCG but the current pace attack is superior to their predecessors. The former Australian Test captain is writing exclusively for Hindustan Times
Kohli’s captaincy was reminiscent of Ponting’s time at the top; he was conservative in his approach but achieved the desired result. On the India skipper’s leadership
Having gained the upper hand, India need to be aware of what happened in 2003-04. They comfortably lost the next Test at the MCG. On the Perth Test