A Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli harakiri in Mumbai not ideal prep for Down Under
The Indian cricket team sank to critically low depths Sunday, when Rohit & Co were handed an unexpected 0-3 Test series whitewash by New Zealand after Indian batting suffered another collapse in the third and final Test in Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium. The Kiwis had done the unthinkable — dashing the hopes of millions of cricket fans and thwarting India's bid for a face-saver in the final and the third Test of the series.
The fancied boys in blue were bowled out for a paltry 121 in the second innings in pursuit of 147 runs.
Skipper Rohit Sharma, who had been feted by millions of Mumbaikars barely five months ago when he and his team-mates had held the glittering T20 World Cup trophy aloft, taking a open-bus ride amid a sea of jubilant and lustily cheering fans at the same venue, struggled for words while talking to media. The demolition job had been unconceivable just a fortnight ago. More so, as the team had made mincemeat out of Bangladesh in the Test before the Kiwis came to town.
But this virtual harakiri was tough to swallow and harder to digest. The nightmare that began 48 hours ago has barely even subsided.
Except that it all began with ‘local boy’ Ajaz Patel. It was he who orchestrated the Indian batting collapse in the final Test with a match haul of 11 for 160. Born in Mumbai, Patel later migrated to New Zealand.
The abject batting collapse in the first Test at Bangalore set the tone for the things to come. If the famed India batting line-up was done in by the pace of gangling Kiwi quicks in overcast condition — and were bowled out for 46 on the first day of the series opener — the spinners took over in the next two Tests. They laid bare India’s vulnerability against the slow moving ball, handing the hosts the result which is sure to hurt them for long.
The stark reality that has stood out after the debacle has been the Indian batters’ serious inability to face spinners on a turning track. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and the others — with Rishab Pant being the exception -- struggled throughout in tackling the turning ball. The two biggest stars in the world of cricket were tentative and bereft of ideas and looked a pale shadow of themselves.
Even if this is being said in hindsight — but the idea of summoning 35 net bowlers, mostly spinners, for practice ahead of the final Test, to avert a clean sweep, was totally weird. India’s unbeaten run at home for 12 years was snapped after 18 Test series. The last-minute request to allow extra net bowlers, primarily spinners, was made after left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner engineered the Indian batting collapse in the second Test in Pune, where he bowled a match-winning 13 for 157.
India’s struggle with facing spinners, even in India, is becoming more pronounced by the day. This raises a serious question mark over the defence and batting technique of the current crop of batters, in an era dominated by a surfeit of the shorter game as well as the long and demanding IPL. The surrender against the Black Caps has refreshed the torment that Indian batters have suffered, over the last decade or so, at the hands of Tom Hertley (England), Steve O’Keefe (Australia), Rangana Herath (Sri Lanka) and Monty Panesar (England).
The clean sweep by the Black Caps has dealt a serious blow to India’s chances of making it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final. India achieving an improbable 4-0 result in its favour — which is the bare minimum needed to reach the WTC final -- in the forthcoming five-Test Test series against Australia beginning later this month seems more than wishful thinking.
The Think-Tank, including skipper Rohit Sharma and senior pros like Virat Kohli and others, will need to do some serious introspection as India embark on the tougher task of facing Australia at the first Test at Perth on November 22. The whitewash at home is sure to rankle. The absence of a practice game before the Test match is not going to help the team either. Though the conditions in Australia are entirely different, keeping the rampaging Aussies under check in any conditions is a tough task for any opposition.
Wait a second, though. Under fire and short on confidence, India can still draw inspiration from their showing in previous tours to Australia where, on the basis of some valiant individual performances, Indian cricketers were able to tame the Kangaroos in their own den and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020-21. In the tour prior, a feisty Rishab Pant had made it truly memorable at Gabba in Brisbane, notching up an unbeaten 89 to steer India home in a tough chase as India completed their second series win Down Under in as many visits.
The writer has covered cricket for many decades and works in The Tribune newspaper
