The Indian cricket team’s tour to Australia for a four-Test match series got off to a bad start. The defeat in Melbourne, followed by an inning and 68 runs defeat in Sydney has left the team in a precarious situation.
This followed a whitewash of 4-0 against England in their last overseas series.
Indian fans have every reason to be disappointed and cynical. It was the first time since 1968 that India has lost six overseas test matches on a trot.
The current series began with India on an equal footing with Australia.
The Australians were morally shaken, having lost to New Zealand for the first time in 26 years on home ground just a fortnight earlier. Their bowling attack was inexperienced, while the team’s top batsmen were struggling for form.
India on the other hand, had strong performances at home before this tour, with a full strength squad, not plagued by injuries.
In a rare gesture, the Board of Control for Cricket in India organised extra practice matches for the team in Australia, with some players reaching that country earlier.
Opportunity lost
What went wrong? Why are the World Champions in One Day Cricket producing below par performances?
The answer rests in the Indian team’s long-term shortcomings on bouncy pitches and against accurate fast bowling.
The cricket pitches in Melbourne and Sydney had more grass than normal, compounding the troubles for Indian batsmen.
The opening combination of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir struggled to click, with the latter not having scored a test century since January 2010.
The trio of Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman and Rahul Dravid, with more than 36,000 international test runs between them was a major driving force in taking India to the top of the heap in Test Cricket last year.
Now in the twilights of their illustrious career, they are revisiting the sad era of the 1990s, when the Indian team players were hopeless travellers.
Most of them would end their careers without winning a series in Australia.
The future for Indian batting does not look rosy, with no worthy contenders appearing on the horizon to take the spots of this ageing troika.
The Indian bowlers also threw in the towel early, especially in Sydney.
Aussies rebound
As Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey began to take shape, the Australian team began to regain confidence and position itself for a win. On the contrary, the tourists seemed to have lost the competitive spirit.
Australia’s pace trio James Pattinson, Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle maintained a full line and length and never let up on the Indian batsmen in Sydney.
Amid the carnage, Sachin Tendulkar, Test cricket’s greatest run-scorer, again failed in his pursuit of his hundredth international hundred as he was bowled off an inside edge for 41, giving Pattinson his fourth wicket.
Pattinson, 21, playing in only his fourth Test match, was the chief destroyer and had figures of four for 43 off 14 overs, with wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and short-leg fielder Ed Cowan taking three catches each.
But all is not lost. India can still come back in the series. What is needed is mental strength to stage a fight back.
A firm resolve and determination on the field can help India be competitive, and at least hope to level this series, and make this Australian summer a partly Indian one.
The Third Test starting in Perth on January 13 would certainly be a decisive match, worth watching.
