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.

India vs Australia Test Series: A Preview

This has to be one of the most under hyped India - Australia series in two decades. India's poor showing versus England in the test series and the whitewash last time they played Australia might be a reason to it. Australia are without Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey and their batting doesn't instill the confidence it did 18 months back. Both India and Australia are teams in transition and there is no denying that.

But Australia, even in transition have a confident captain in Micheal Clarke in ominous batting form. A firing opening combination, stable middle order, in form all rounders in Henriques & Maxwell and a strong pace bowling unit. India on the other hand have their struggles beginning right at the top. With Gambhir being dropped and Dhawan, Vijay being included Sehwag will have a new partner to start the innings with. Pujara was in bright form against England and will be expected to hold fort against Australia at no 3. Tendulkar, fresh from a hundred against a strong attack in the Irani Cup will look to pile on runs against the Australians and shut his critics. This series will also indicate how long Tendulkar prolongs his test career. Success in this series could mean Tendulkar could play till India's tour of South Africa to guide a younger side in tough conditions against a tough opposition. But failure here could result in retirement. Kohli will be India's no 5 and will have the task of playing with the lower order. Much expected of him is yet to bear fruit. Dhoni, has been facing enormous criticism for his test batting and captaincy. Outcome of this series will decide if Dhoni will continue to captain the test side or selectors will look for the next captain. Indian bowling without Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav looks bare. Ashwin & Ojha's inability to spin a web around the English batsmen proved they can be dealt with rather easily and aren't penetrative enough even in favourable conditions. Ishant will lead the pace attack and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is expected to debut after impressive ODI performances.

In my opinion India will do well going in with five batsmen, three spinners and two pacers. India's best chance to challenge Australia will be by attacking them with spin. India's line up for the first test in my humble opinion should be: Sehwag, Dhawan, Pujara, Tendulkar, Kohli, Dhoni, Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar, Harbhajan, Ishant, Ojha.

Australia will depend on Warner and Cowan to give them explosive yet steady starts. Hughes will be the more preferred option for no.3 over Khawaja. Hughes' effectiveness against Indian spinners is to be gauged. Clarke & Watson hold the key for Australia in spinning Indian pitches. Matthew Wade, selected over Brad Haddin will have the task of playing with the tail if need be. Henriques, picked over Maxwell for the first test, will take over the all rounder spot vacated by Watson, now playing purely as batsman. Glenn Maxwell will be crucial as the second spinner and a valuable batsman when selected.

Australia will surely have an edge over India with a very strong bowling attack. Siddle, Pattinson & Starc will have taken notes from how Anderson bowled to the Indian batsmen. Indian batsmen won't have good memories of this pace trio who had them hop, jump, duck, fend & edge in faster, bouncier conditions. According to me Starc is the bowler India needs to be most careful of. He is capable of skidding, curving away from and bringing it back to the right hander which is Sehwag, Tendulkar & Kohli's undoing. Pattinson will come at the Indian will all he's got. Good pace, lovely rhythm and good lengths. Siddle is expected to spearhead this attack and is the only bowler who has played in India conditions before. Bowling in Indian conditions will be Lyon's biggest test in his career up till now. If he can emulate some success that Swann & Panesar had against Indian batsmen few months back, Australia will be well served. His experience of these conditions will help. Mitchell Johnson & Ashton Agar will await their chances in the upcoming tests.

Dhoni & Clarke are both in different stages of their captaincy. Dhoni will set out to prove series loss to England at home was an aberration and the Indian team in transition is still good enough to inflict a series defeat against Australia. He also has a point to prove that he is good enough a batsman and wicket keeper to hold his place in the side even if he wasn't the captain. Clarke on the other hand has had a challenging summer at home against South Africa & Sri Lanka and would be looking to win overseas. South Africa inflicted a rare defeat at home on Australia while they easily thrashed Sri Lanka 3-0. Clarke, in contrast with Dhoni has been in phenomenal personal form with the bat. He will be looking to add to his runs tally from 2012.

My call for the series would be a 1-1 draw as neither team seems to have the firepower to outdo the other. India has too feeble a bowling line up to defeat Australia. And Australia, post Hussey & Ponting's retirement will struggle to hand India a series defeat at home. Drawn series would be a success for India while Australia will look to force a win considering how India played against England.

One last word for Duncan Fletcher for whom this might be the last chance to lead India to a win and salvage some pride after an extremely disappointing two years at the top job.

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.

Missing: India's Spinning Reserves

Just two years ago, we had Harbhajan Singh & Pragyan Ojha doing a fine job for the test team. ODI team was managing well with Harbhajan Singh as the main spinner and Jadeja, Raina, Yuvraj rolling their arm over. Ashwin was amongst the front runners to win a spot in the Indian team with fine variations and a big heart. Piyush Chawla & Amit Mishra were still in the running for a spot in the team. Much of that has now changed. Let's see how.

Back in the present, Harbhajan has lost much of the guile that made him dangerous. Saying he is now a better batsman than an off spin bowler would be exaggerating it, but wouldn't be far from the truth. Not having played for the national team for almost 10 months now must be hitting him hard. His performance at the domestic level and IPL hasn't been anything to gloat over either. Ashwin, after a bright beginning to his ODI, Test career seems to have hit a point where he looks clueless while bowling on unhelpful pitches. He struggled in Australia and was back to bowling effectively in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. Ashwin's stuggles were evident as Indian bowling attack looked one dimensional in Australia, in tests especially. Pragyan Ojha bowled exceptionally well in home conditions against West Indies and is expected to play an important role in the upcoming season against the visiting Kiwis and English. Amit Mishra & Piyush Chawla has effectively fallen off the selectors' radar. Mishra's tendency to over step surely a dampener. Piyush Chawla's over reliance on his googly, usage of that as his stock ball and lack of any other variety makes him predictable and easily flayable. Rahul Sharma is an addition to the list of talented spinners in the last 12 odd months. In the few opportunities he's got, he has bowled effectively. With experience, he can only get better. But who else does the Indian domestic circuit have to offer as replacement?

Once in surplus, spinners in Indian domestic cricket have diminished. All we find are left arm spinners in abundance. All the exciting talents in the spin bowling departments are left arm spinners. Iqbal Abdullah, Pawan Negi, Shahbaz Nadeem, Akshay Darekar make up that list.  Where did the good old offie go? Post Mishra, Chawla, Rahul Sharma we haven't witnessed an exciting young leggie either. Is the modern version of 'wham-boom' cricket turning youngsters away from spin bowling at the fear of being hit out of the park at every given opportunity? Spinners increasingly have begun to use yorkers to get back at the batsmen and not the traditional well flighted ball for deception in flight. Spin was once all about defeating the batsmen with guile and not a yorker or physical intimidation which was the pace bowlers' trait. 

The better spinners around the world today; Saeed Ajmal, Daniel Vettori & Graeme Swann to name a few have depended on their ability to think the batsmen out. Ashwin who started his career doing that, has now taken a step back being defensive in his ideas. Young spinners need constant guidance from seniors. Who better than a Kumble for India to take up the mantle? BCCI on its part must get the likes of Hirwani, Bahutule, Raju to impart their experiences and drill into youngsters the importance of good old drift and flight in their plan to counter the batsman's advances. Can only then hope, we have a happy selection confusion in the spin department. 

Bench Strength. What? Where?

India's test batting woes aren't soon going to end, if the India 'A' team's performance in the Caribbean is anything to go by. Except Pujara, and Rohit Sharma on one occasion, other batsmen just failed to get going against a persistent and hard working West Indies 'A' bowling attack. IPL successes for Rahane & Dhawan didn't seem to count for much as both failed to the capitalize on the golden opportunity. As has been the case lately, consistency seems to elude Rohit Sharma. After a 94 in the first innings of the series, all he could accumulate was 51 runs in the next 5 innings. Manoj Tiwary too couldnt set the stage on fire and only scored one half century in 6 innings. Unimpressive for two of India's brightest young talents. Pujara on the other end was the only one to keep Indian hopes high with stroke filled, patient 252 runs in six innings, also top scoring with a 96*. Wriddhiman Saha gave a good account of himself with two half centuries. Still needs to exude confidence to be the next best wicket keeper batsman in the country after Dhoni.

What this three test series has done is push Pujara way ahead of Manoj Tiwary, Rohit Sharma & Ajinkya Rahane in the running for the replacement for Dravid in the test side. Pujara will be the front runner to take over the no 3 position left vacant by Rahul Dravid. With not more than one season of test cricket left for Tendulkar & Laxman (assumption), India need strong replacements. At this point in time, no one from the younger, inexperienced lot look capable of playing quality pacemen in overseas pitches. If the same two teams clashed in Indian conditions, the results would have been the other way round. That said, Indian bowlers performed admirably while compared to their bat wielding colleagues. Shami Ahmed stood out with 13 wickets from the series. Left arm spinner Akshay Darekar six wicket haul was India's  only 5+ wicket haul in the series whilst the West Indies had five of them. 

Argument could again lead to blaming IPL for everything thats gone wrong with our players' ability to survive test match cricket. But it isn't entirely misplaced. Rahane, Rohit & Dhawan's prolific scores in the IPL or Rahul Sharma & Awana's successes didn't get translated into good performances in tests. Bowlers are still fighting it hard and Shami Ahmed, Dinda, Bhuwaneshwar Kumar and Awana didnt passably well. India surely are going to find it tough to replace Dravid, Tendulkar & Laxman in tests overseas unless there is a radical change in how the BCCI treats younger players. Regular overseas trip a must. Under 19 teams must have camps held in South Africa, England and Australia. Add Robin Bist, Mayank Aggarwal, Suryakumar Yadav, Mandeep Singh & Unmukt Chand to the list of prospective future Indian players, we have an impressive list on paper. On overseas, it would again be the case of paper tigers. 


But for now, can't wait for Pujara to take over Dravid's role and play alongside the stalwarts & Kohli and start laying the foundation for the next gen which will take over in a matter of few years.

Make Way, Virat's Here!

When he walked in to bat at Hobart, Indian team was precariously placed at 86 for 2 chasing 320 off 40 overs to win a bonus point and stay alive in the CB Series. He had already made a name for himself by then. With eight hundreds in his kitty in ODIs and his maiden test hundred coming against Australia a month back in Brisbane. Much was expected of him at Hobart. He was expected to support Gambhir and ensure India at least made a fight of it. He did just that and more. He smashed one of the most brutal centuries seen in recent times baring Watson's 185 against Bangladesh. He carted Lasith Malinga for 24 off an over. He scored 133 off 86 balls and India defeated Sri Lanka well within 40 overs and earned the bonus point. Though India got eliminated as Lanka trounced Australia in the following game, India had earned some pride from Kohli's knock and the resultant victory. Things around him began to change. He was named vice captain of the Indian ODI side for the Asia Cup in Bangladesh, a huge promotion for a 23 year old. Fans and supporters have begun to see him as a senior member in the team. He obviously has cemented his place in the side and dismissed competition from his closest rivals Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary.

Come Asia Cup, he alongside Gambhir put on another 200+ stand against Sri Lanka, got to his 10th century and guided India to another win. But what he has done today is magical. After the loss versus Bangladesh, India had to win against Pakistan. Bowlers gave away as many as 329 and Pakistanis made merry of the listless attack. A defeat loomed large. Defeat would've meant elimination. Kohli had different ideas. He, alongside Tendulkar, after Gambhir early exit, put on 133 and in quick time too.  Post Tendulkar's dismissal, Kohli built another fabulous partnership with Rohit Sharma. Both looked to play risk free cricket. Runs came freely. Rohit grew in confidence in Kohli's company and got himself a well made 68. But Kohli on the other end was exhilarating. When bowlers bowled length, he flayed them. If they bowled short, he pulled them. On occasions where they bowled tight, he was at ease while stealing singles too. Score of 330 was overhauled by the Indian with comfortable ease. Kohli scored a magnificent 183 off 148 balls. It's the 5th highest score ever by an Indian in ODIs. Pakistan captain Misbah termed it as one of the best innings he has ever seen. 

In the partnership with Tendulkar today and with Gambhir against Sri Lanka at Dhaka and Hobart, he was the dominant partner. Probably a sign of things to come. He has now taken over the mantle of being India's most consistent and talented batsman in ODIs. His runs tally since 2009 would point towards a batsman who is desperate to prove his worth and has done it flawlessly. 85 matches old in ODIs, Kohli has already registered 11 centuries. Put in perspective of the best ODI batsman ever, Tendulkar scored his first hundred in his 78th match and had 2 hundreds when he had played 85 matches. Kohli is racing ahead of his counterparts from other countries and is now surely THE most exciting young player in international cricket. 

Many more big things await the youngster. He is clearly being trained as a future captain of the side. When India goes into World Cup 2015 in Australia - New Zealand, he is expected to be the mainstay of the Indian batting. Much is said about his temperament and his tendency to spew profanities on field. To me, it's an expression of achievement or frustration of a 23 year old which isn't to be taken that seriously. He is a quick learner, he realises his responsibilities and will mature into a better player and would learn to control his desire to express himself openly. 

Melbourne Mess. Sydney Debacle. Perth, A Disaster?

Team India’s much looked forward to tour Down Under has already plummeted horrendous depths. After a decent fight in the Boxing Day test at Melbourne, the team capitulated sadly in Sydney. Melbourne test turned Australia’s way when Australia gained a small, yet sizeable lead of 51 in the first innings after India looked set for a first innings lead when Tendulkar & Dravid were going strong on the second day. From then on, Ponting & Hussey fought hard and so did the tail to set India a healthy 292 to chase. And the Indian batsmen sadly threw in their towels and wound up losing by 122 runs. If this was sad, Sydney would get worse. India choosing to bat first lost their way getting dismissed for 191. Australia, post initial hiccups courtesy Zaheer Khan, put up a mammoth 659 for 4. Skipper Clarke notching up a phenomenal triple ton, Ponting & Hussey got themselves career saving tons. Indian bowlers were listless in Zaheer’s exception. Rookies Yadav & Ashwin were dealt with ease. Ishant was effective in phases but too inconsistent to 
cause discomfort. Indian fielding went from passable to lethargic to disinterested to depressing. When India’s turn came to bat, some fight was expected from the famed batting line up. Gambhir, Tendulkar, Laxman put up some fight, where as Sehwag played like he didn’t care. His shot to get out when India was looking to play out 7 sessions was appalling.  After Tendulkar’s dismissal, India surrendered again. Laxman, Dhoni and Kohli got out in quick succession to push the team into abyss. Ashwin and Zaheer freed their arms and got India to a modest 400 and yet lose by an innings and 68 runs.

Defeat in the first test was thought of as a wake up call to the team and were expected to be much better in Sydney. Australia pacers; Hilfenhaus, Pattinson & Siddle, have stuck to their task brilliantly whilst all Indian batsmen have done is to meekly give in. All the Aussie pacers have done is to pitch it up and let the ball talk. They haven’t got too many wickets with the short ball. It’s the pitched up balls which have caused India all the trouble. Ashwin being India’s second highest run scorer in the series till yet after Tendulkar is a stat indicative of India’s struggles. Dravid, Laxman, Gambhir, Dhoni have got starts but have failed to get going. Dhoni’s captaincy on the other hand has been uninspiring. His finicky ways of handling bowling changes and field placements have often helped India in the shorter versions, but here, it was plain painful. As Ian Chappell pointed out, India bowlers can attribute much of their troubles to their captain Dhoni for the way he handled the field. Shoulders stooped, heads dropped and India began to wait for the declaration than trying to crack the Australian batsmen.

If Melbourne and Sydney wickets were quick, Perth is expected to be rampaging; like the WACA of old. Indian team’s spirits are low. Stalwarts not living up to the hype. Bowling not firing as a unit.  Changes are warranted, but who, how and when are the questions. Gambhir showed intent in the second innings at Sydney. India needs some major inspiration from Sehwag. When he fires at the top order, middle order gets time to play themselves in. I would go for bringing Laxman up the order at no. 3 and drop Dravid down at no 5. Making any radical changes in the team would only bring about more chaos. First thing in the team’s mindset should be to save these two test matches. Avoid the much discussed “whitewash”.