New Heroes Take Stride: India vs Australia Test Series Review

When Bhuvaneshwar Kumar bowled the first ball to David Warner on February 22nd in the first test in Chennai, nobody would've guessed what's to happen over the next 5 weeks. Four test matches over the next five weeks proved how both India and Australia have dominated at home and have been tamed in alien conditions. India could also validate that the home series defeat vs England a few months back was an aberration. Even my prediction of a 1-1 draw was thrown out of the window. After the 2nd session on 2nd day in the first test, Australia had to wait till the 2nd session on the 2nd day of the 4th test to have some iota of grip on the happenings. That's how badly were the Australians outplayed by a good Indian team. Indian team had its own concerns, which looked minute and trivial compared to Australia's.

Bigger Concerns
Australia seemed more affected by the retirement of Ponting and Mike Hussey than India was by Dravid & Laxman's. Australian batting seemed to lack depth when it came to playing spin. Micheal Clarke was the only batsmen who looked in any control while playing spin. Even though Warner & Cowan gave a few decent starts which were undone by some inexplicable shot making and pure lack of skill to play spin. Hughes & Watson looked the most at sea while playing spin. Australia pace battery of Pattinson, Starc, Siddle, Johnson couldn't extract what the likes of Anderson & Finn could for England. Lyon, Doherty & Maxwell weren't as good as Swann & Panesar. In all the 0-4 defeat for Australia against an almost fresh look Indian team raised huge concerns over how Australia will fare over the next 12-18 critical months where they are scheduled to play back to back Ashes.

Disciplinary Issues
Post the battering in the 2nd test in Hyderabad, experts called for wholesome changes in the Australian XI. Common sense would have dictated having Khawaja for Hughes & Johnson for Starc. Pattinson was Australia's most potent bowler in the first two tests. But few days before the 3rd test, Australian coach Mickey Arthur announced Pattinson, Watson, Khawaja & Johnson have been suspended for the 3rd test. This was attributed to non completion of a task given by the coach to list down three ways how each player can improve his performance to help Australia win. Watson reacted to the suspension by calling it "very harsh", and flew to Australia (also for the birth of his son). Pattinson also said the punishment was "too harsh" but later gave in that his act had "let the team down". Clarke stood by his coach and called for more discipline to be a part of the Australian national team. This further weakened the Australian side on a wicket that was best suited to them. I reckon it was silly to drop important players at a time when you need them most. This also to some extent showed how Australians were a little less bothered about the current task at hand and were focussing more on the upcoming Ashes.

Indian Batting
After watching the debacle vs England, Indian batting seemed to go down the similar road in the 1st innings in the first test where both Sehwag & Vijay were dismissed by a menacing Pattinson. Tendulkar & Pujara, later Kohli stemmed the fall of wickets and brought about a resurgence of sorts as Indian batting had failed to cross 400 after the 1st test ve England. Dhoni took over from Kohli, Tendulkar and scored one of the most brutal double hundreds in recent memory. Played the pacers on merit and took the odd risk but was very aggressive against the spinners. His attack would have dented Lyon confidence. If it was Dhoni's brute in the first test, it was Vijay & Pujara in the 2nd test in Hyderabad. Vijay, in the risk of losing his place after a poor show in Chennai made amends with a fantastic stand of 370 alongside double centurion Pujara. Pujara played like he was in a dream. Barely put a foot wrong. The partnership literally pushed Australia out of the match into an embarrassing innings defeat. Selectors decided they had had enough of waiting for Sehwag to fire and dropped him. Dhawan was the natural replacement for Sehwag. Dhawan had to show his mettle at the highest level after having waited for over 7 years. He did and how! He put on along wish Vijay a partnershi of 289 out of which he scored a staggering 187. He was unrelenting but not brutal. His shots oozed class. Only after getting close to his 100 did he step out to Doherty. By the time he was dismissed, he had shattered some records. His 187 became the highest score by an Indian debutant and also the best strike rate for any batsmen to score 150+ on debut. In the fourth test, on an incredibly difficult wicket Pujara played exceedingly well to notch two half centuries and also anchored India home in a tricky chase of 155. Vijay was the other half centurion for India in the Delhi test.

New Spin Twins
Who'd have thunk it'd be Ravindra Jadeja & Ravichandran Ashwin causing most damage to the Australian batting. Ashwin had a horror of a time against the visiting England. His bowling was easily milked and scored off by Pietersen, Trott & Cook. And now, he was the destructor in chief claiming 29 wickets in 4 matches (8 innings). And who partnered him? The million dollar boy and the cricketer every Indian cricket fan loves to hate, Ravindra Jadeja. The boy from Saurashtra made the most of his captain faith in his abilities. His claimed 24 wickets and made Micheal Clarke his series bunny, by dismissing him 5 times in 6 innings. Ashwin started off the series on the right note claiming 7 wickets in the first innings of the first test in Chennai. He had the upper hand over Warner, Cowan, Hughes & Wade through the series. His dismissal of Steven Smith and Mitchell Johnson in the fourth test in Delhi showed how much at sea the Australians were against spin and the wickets of Warner & Hughes in Hyderabad & Cowan in Delhi, bowled around their legs, showed how Ashwin was using his skill to think the batsmen out. Harbhajan was the surprise inclusion in the first two tests. He couldn't really spin a web around the batsmen as he did in his heydays. He got a few wickets but wasn't really penetrative. Ojha rightfully replaced him in the Mohali and Delhi tests and bowled his heart out in the opportunities he got. He got to a personal milestone of 100 wickets during the series.

Second Fiddles
Fast bowlers, (medium pacers in India's case) in this series were reduced to playing the second fiddle in most part of the series. Pattinson started the series with a burst to reduce the Indian opening to dust and went on to claim 5 in the innings. Starc was ineffective in the first and second tests. Siddle bowled well within himself, but couldnt penetrate the Indian batting. Indian pacers weren't of any use on the dusty Chennai wicket. Bhuvneshwar Kumar started the second test brightly dismissing Warner, Cowan & Watson in quick succession to hand India supremacy early on in the test. Bhuvneshwar went on to claim important wickets even in the 3rd test in Mohali in the Australian second innings to initiate their collapse. Ishant bowled well in patches but could never bowl effectively enough as the senior paceman in the side. Siddle & Starc found the Mohali wicket to their liking and quickened India's fall after the mammoth first wicket stand. Mitchell Johnson was mediocre in his only outing in Delhi.

Captains
There was a different Dhoni to be seen in this series. He was seen cheering his bowlers, egging them on and at times talking to his team, more than he ever did before. Clear indication of him understanding his role now as a leader of a younger team, having graduated from being just a captain to a team of experienced personnel. Dhoni's 224 in the first test in India set the tone for the Indians and also gave them self belief to knock out the Australians. Dhoni had a moderate series behind the stumps but a fabulous one as a captain. He really needed this win to reaffirm the belief in many a supporter that he still is the best guy around to lead this Indian side. Clarke on the other hand had a nightmarish series at the helm. Though he won the toss all three times (Watson lead in the 4th test) and elected to bat, Australia could never make it count as an advantage. His team struggled to cope with spin and were over reliant on him to play the anchor and the aggressor. He also had the "homework scandal" to handle. It surely isn't a series Clarke would want to remember 10 years down the lane. To add to all other woes, his back injury aggravated and couldnt play the 4th test in Delhi.

Failures
This series was, as fans publicized it, Sachin Tendulkar's last series in India. He could well play the test series in South Africa later this year, but it would be his last international experience at home. He started off the series with a sound 81 in the first innings in Chennai and followed it up with a quickfire innings (studded with two consecutive sixes off Lyon) to seal an India win. But in the next five innings, he couldnt manage another half century. Fans egged him for one final show in Hyderabad, Mohali & Delhi. It wasn't to be. He received heroic welcomes every time he walked in and a sad, dejected send off each time he was dismissed. For Australia, the biggest failure was Shane Watson. Much was expected off the vice captain who was in the side as a specialist batsman. He ended up averaging less than Nathan Lyon, the tailender.

Success Stories
While India found positives from the series in Vijay, Ashwin, Pujara, Dhawan, Jadeja & Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Australia debutants Henriques & Maxwell struggled to get going. Nathan Lyon though after getting dropped for the 2nd test, came back strongly in the 3rd and 4th tests. Lyon claimed 9 wickets in the 4th test in Delhi out of which 7/103 was in the first innings. He had Indians on a hot tin roof with his off spin.

All through the series while India was busy thrashing Australia, the experts and fans were trying to work out a combination for the South African tour later in the year. While the middle order looks settled, bowling and opening are two areas which are still dicey. While Vijay & Dhawan did wonders to their reputations in this series, playing Steyn, Morkel, Philander in South Africa will be a different ball game. How they mould themselves will be interesting to watch.

Australia on the other hand have a lot of 'homework' to do. They need to get their batting combination right. They need to decide if Watson deserves to be a part of the side as a specialist batsman. Siddle, Starc, Pattinson will be effective in English conditions but the batting can not rely so much on Clarke. They need guys like Warner, Cowan, Hughes to stand up and get counted. This series is gone and the Australia reputation has taking a major beating. Australia are not a side to sit back and relax, they will come back hard and just for that reason, the Ashes of 2013 will be a keenly contested one.

Dhoni's Conundrum

It is a well known fact that some cricketers are good at one form of the game and moderate at others. This is excluding those who excel in all forms of the game. And it is also well known that cricketers take pride in saying that "Test cricket is most important". Some of the best ODI players haven't replicated their ODI successes in tests. Ajay Jadeja & Micheal Bevan are two names right on top of my head. Both were exceptional in their limited overs career, but were found wanting in the test format. Jadeja couldnt handle quality bowling and his temperament was exposed in tests. Bevan's was moderate, but considering his ODI successes, it was always felt he didnt fit the bill in tests. In the opposite spectrum, we have hugely talented and successful Justin Langer who was considered a test specialist. Why? With his attacking nature and strong defense, he could have easily made it to the Australian ODI side, although in his limited ODI career he did only moderately well. And can anyone explain why England won't make Matt Prior a regular in their ODI squad? Dabbling around with Kieswetter and Buttler, they're losing out of Matt Prior's best days as batsman considering his strong show in tests.

Here we are talking about how players get stereotyped as Test specialists or ODI specialists or now lately T20 specialists. Ask David Warner what it took him to get the selectors to take a note of his T20 performances and give him a nod for tests and ODIs. In some cases the stereotyping could be fair too.

Is this stereotype limited to batsmen, bowlers and wicket keepers? Well, yeah. Adam Hollioake only captained England in ODIs while Mike Atherton captained in tests. This way back in mid 90s. This was more to get a young thinker for captain. Now, its slowly becoming common to have split captaincy for different forms of the game, considering there are 3 now. India did too, when Anil Kumble before his retirement, captained in tests and MS Dhoni lead the ODI, T20I sides. But Dhoni soon took over and displayed success in all three forms. But today, after 5 years and 5 months of his assuming limited overs captaincy and 4 years and 3 months since he took over as captain in all three forms, it's easy for a viewer to say which form of the game Dhoni likes to lead and play the most. No marks for guessing! ODIs.

Dhoni; we all know by now won us the inaugural WC T20 in 2007 when the nation was still grieving over the team's insipid first round exit in the 50 over WC earlier the same year. He became an instant hero. This followed by the Indian team's test successes, climb to no. 1 on the ICC Test ranking along with India's continued good run in ODIs, Dhoni was now called, not a tactician or a strategy maker, but a "street smart captain". With victory at the World Cup 2011, he had ensured India had achieved the pinnacle of each of the three formats of the game. That put together with the two consecutive IPL wins for Chennai Super Kings, the team he captains, Dhoni was unquestioned as captain. This stood true till June 2011. Between then and February 2012, Dhoni's reputation as a test captain had taken a mighty beating with 4-0 defeats in England followed by Australia. His street smart captaincy was now replaced by illogical or clueless moves. Players in the team seemed to just go through the motions. Differences between the captain and few players started to come out in the open.

In between all this, Dhoni with an almost different set of personnel fought it out against England in England and lost an ODI series, but with heads held high. A young team had fought hard. But the same England team visited India for 5 match ODI series. Dhoni's men blanked them 5-0. It was again a young side with part timers, swift fielders, big hitters, quick runners. It looked like a different ball game. Dhoni too seemed more interested, enthusiastic and well in the middle of the business. Almost the same team thrashed a resurgent West Indies 4-1 in India. Post the Australian test debacle, India lost the CB Series and Asia Cup. Both had strong performances by youngsters and Dhoni's involvement was felt. Dhoni the batsman flourished too. The same repeated itself when England visited India for a 4 match test series and went back victorious 2-1. Dhoni looked out of ideas in the last three tests after winning the first. Come ODIs against Pakistan and England, Dhoni became India's best batsman and suddenly his tricks started working and his ploys taking shape.

So, it's clear. His style of captaincy is more suited for ODIs. Anything wrong with that? No. Each batsman, bowler and even captain has his own set game that probably is suited for one format or the other. Case of former English opener Nick Knight used to baffle me. He looked every bit world class when he batted in ODIs. But once at the test stage he would struggle immensely.

MS Dhoni, the batsman is more suited for the ODI format more than tests or surprisingly even T20. ODIs allow him the time he needs to push for singles & doubles and flex his muscles whenever required. No doubting his temperament to play in tests or his ability to get going from the word go in T20s, the ease he is at while playing ODIs is evident from how he captains the side and his flurry of runs in the format. Even as captain one would see him less perturbed when opposition batsmen are having a go at the pacers, he'd know its a question of one wicket that would help the team peg back. His use of part timers like Yuvraj, Raina, Rohit Sharma has been interesting and has more often than not proved successful. Dhoni has shown confidence is many a youngster or even a struggling experienced campaigner. His confidence in Ravindra Jadeja is now proving worthwhile. Praveen Kumar, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin are all beneficiaries of Dhoni's confidence. But compare this with tests. India are currently a victim of massive talent exodus. Dravid followed by Laxman have retired and Tendulkar isn't going to be around for too long. Till all three were in the squad no one could've displaced them. After Kumble's retirement and Harbhajan's massive loss of form, India turned to Zaheer to be the team's bowling spearhead and mentor. Now, Zaheer's coming apart too. All of Dhoni's key personnel are falling apart. All the reason for him to look forlorn and clueless while opposition bowlers and batsmen make merry against India.

India would never want to loose Dhoni the ODI batsman and captain. Test side, going through a transition. Sehwag and Gambhir must be mandated to oversee that. While Dhoni's expertise and clear interest lies in ODIs why force him to lead the test side. There isn't currently another right man for the job.  Dhoni must be mandated to nurture the team for the 2015 World Cup in Australia & New Zealand. Hand the test captaincy over to Kohli. He is young, will take time to learn the tricks of the trade. With Dhoni, Sehwag and Gambhir as mentors, Kohli can grow as captain. And Dhoni must give away his Chennai Super Kings captaincy to Raina. What better than grooming another captain for a rainy day?

If Dhoni the batsman and wicket keeper still continues to impress in tests, India couldn't have asked for more.

India's African Safari

Till not so long ago India, not-so-proudly held the tag of "poor tourists". And in that period, till 2007, amongst other countries, India toured South Africa four times and played 12 test matches; won 1, lost 6 and drew 5. A record that doesn't really befit a team which sits atop the Test rankings.

South African pitches offers Indian batsmen what they arent too comfortable with; the twin troubles of Pace & Bounce. Indian batsmen have traditionally suffered at the hands of South African bowlers in these pitches assisting pace and bounce. Even the mighty Sachin Tendulkar has looked a mere mortal in South African conditions. With three centuries in 12 test matches, South African bowlers have offered him the least to get away with in their backyard. Even Dravid, Laxman & Sehwag havent struck gold against the Proteas. But things might be slightly different this time around. India have a settled opening combination in Gambhir & Sehwag for the first time in all their tours to SA. A middle order which has three legends. A wicket keeper batsman & captain who can more than just bat. Two promising youngsters, Raina & Pujara, battling for the sixth batsman spot. Its Steyn, Morne Morkel & the less known Lonwabo Tsotsobe they'd need to negotiate. Paul Harris, the Protean spinning option shouldnt pose much of a threat to the Indian batting line up.

Indian bowlers though have been slightly more successful than their bat wielding team mates. Prasad & Srinath were a deadly combo during the 1996-97 tour. Sreesanth was lethal & Zaheer supported him well in the 2006-07 tour. But what these bowlers lacked was support from rest of the bowlers and batsmen. The pressure exerted by Prasad & Srinath was usually undone by the third seamer who let the Proteas counter attack and take runs before the pair came back to hunt. India this time has Zaheer in prime form, Ishant and Sreesanth finding rhythm and Harbhajan not in the wiliest of phases. But Sreesanth is a mercurial bowlers and can find rhythm in one good spell and once he does he can be dangerous. Zaheer will bank getting his bunny Graeme Smith cheaply consistently. Trouble is when they run into the Protean middle order, next only to Indian middle order if not equal. AB de Villiers, Kallis & Amla are all in sublime form and are determined to go into the World Cup with victory against India.

This series will be watched by all cricket enthusiasts for its between the two most successful teams in recent times. With the one sidedness of The Ashes, the significance of India versus South Africa has increased multi folds in the context of the game. India has no reason to not feel confident about their chances. They have achieved success in the bounciest wicket in the world at WACA, Perth against Australia in 2008. To do well and achieve success here will be the best preparation India could ask for before the World Cup and a perfect adieu to Tendulkar, Laxman & Dravid who have traveled thrice to South Africa without achieving a series win and quite certainly are playing their last series in South Africa.

Author of this post also writes on http://www.isport.in/

VVS – Most beautiful cliché in Cricket

Every test match India plays, fans expect Sehwag to entertain, Tendulkar to score a hundred, Dravid to provide solidity at the top. What about the other crucial pillar of the Indian team? VVS Laxman. Lately he is expected to do all of the above three; entertain, provide solidity and score a hundred. He is the most ‘taken-for-granted-man’ in Indian cricket.

Post the epic 281 against his favourite bunnies Australia in 2000-01, he has very much become the crisis man for India. The team burrows itself into a hole and Laxman with his master painter like strokes and a saint like composure brings India to safety. Remarkable about this man is the effortless calm he brings to the crease and the fans at critical times. In Dravid’s case, its easily evident he is trying to concentrate hard and battle the demon which doesn’t put us at ease. With Tendulkar, expectations of the zillion hearts are enough to put pressure on him and on us who are watching. Laxman doesn’t look vulnerable in such situations. His confidence is sure to spur on his partner. As wristy as Azharuddin, Laxman's repertoire has a few shots that has opponents, spectators and commentators alike mesmerised. His absolute dream of an on drive, the flick to mid wicket from outside off stump; visuals of these are equal to big successes in life.

His partnership with Gautam Gambhir in 2009 against NZ in Hamilton to save India the test match was phenomenal. Both men stood their ground and refused to budge from the crease till the opposition gave up. Laxman has now made it a habit to play the kind of knock oppositions hate; stick around with the tail and give the total a huge boost. His 4th innings century against Sri Lanka at Galle in the third test to lead India to a series leveling win was a classic example of a mature, responsible innings. His innings of 76 against Australia at Mohali battling through back spasms acquired while fielding was a special innings. The way he influenced Ishant Sharma in the epic chase against Australia was incredible and more recently his fabulous stand with Harbhajan where the latter went on to score his first Test ton and Laxman score a masterful 93.

"Back to the wall" innings was what these innings were once called, but lately they are just known as "Laxman'esque' innings", a huge honour to the man whose initials VVS are often dubbed as being an abbreviation for Very Very Special. He deserve every bit of those praises he has been showered on over the years. He, along with Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly & Sehwag have has given India, its best years in Test cricket.