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Another tame end to ICC trophy quest
India’s slim hopes on Day 5 of the WTC final vanished once Kohli and Jadeja fell. Australia wrapped up an easy win as India missed out on another ICC trophy
It ended in a whimper, the match dead long before the last ball was bowled. The crowd kept cheering though — every four, every single, every good defensive stroke, every little speck of resistance — and at some point, the cheers would have hurt as much as the jeers.
India began Day 5 of the World Test Championship final with hope but when they lost Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja within three balls in the seventh over of the day, the writing was on the wall; their tournament was done, they had ended another ICC tournament without a trophy.
India started the day needing 280 runs with 7 wickets in hand, but then they proceeded to collapse in just 20.3 overs on a pitch that was still good for batting. Scott Boland was very good for Australia but the day’s proceedings were an apt reflection of the two-year WTC cycle for Rohit Sharma and Co; one in which their top-order batters simply failed to get going.
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In the post-match presser, the frustration was evident on Sharma’s face. He along with Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja has now been part of four ICC final losses. The team once again has to go searching for answers. Each loss cannot be down to ’nothing’ or a one-off or be an aberration.
“The wicket, honestly, stayed pretty good all five days,” said Sharma. “That was one of the reasons for us to consider batting last because we thought the wicket will not change too much. In fact, it will get better and better. But obviously a lot of the things that we spoke of -- how we want to bowl, how we want to bat, we didn’t actually do that. That’s probably the reason we were very much behind in the game all four days.”
All four days because the fifth was just an unsightly blur of nostalgia. We have seen this happen to India in away Tests and we have seen it happen just when they don’t want it to. They are brilliant at home and those wins in Australia were brilliant. But at the same time, there is a lingering sense of opportunities missed.
At this point, there is only one pertinent question: what next?
“Any tournament you play,” said Sharma, “you start looking at what possibly you can do moving ahead. The game just got over. We haven't really given too much thought to what we want to do in the future. Obviously, there will be some talk around it and we’ll see; whatever is required and whatever is best, whatever the brand of cricket we want to play in the next two years. And who are the guys who can do that role for us? That is the question we need to find answers for.”
The answers can be found alright provided you are ready to ask the right questions.
Top order flops
India’s biggest issue over the last two years has been the manner in which the top-order has never really got stuck in. Sharma’s overall average during this period stands at 51.44, Kohli comes in at 36.58, Rahane at 35.86, Pujara at 29.98, Gill at 32.89 and KL Rahul at 29.48. But look at their away records in isolation and the reading isn’t good — Sharma’s average drops to 41.26, Kohli’s to 27.56, Rahane’s to 34.64, Pujara’s does a little better at 30.18. KL Rahul (31.77) and Gill (33.60) are okay but this is not the top order that wins you matches.
As soon as Australia put up 469 in the first innings, it was as good as game over because of the record of the Indian top order. This was beyond them. It has been beyond them for a while.
A rejig should be in order but given the lack of A tours in recent years and the refusal to blood top Ranji performers, the path is not going to be an easy one. It will almost have to be built from ground up.
The realisation also is that for the next WTC cycle, India wants to do different things, but they’d be better off doing it with a different group of players.
Pace unit needs a rejig
Some of India’s finest away wins in the recent past have been down to the bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma were good in all types of conditions and smart enough to adapt when they needed to.
While Mohammed Siraj’s talent is unquestionable, he too will have to learn the ropes, and that will only happen as he plays more matches. Many of the other potential replacements like Prasidh Krishna are injured or just not ready for Test cricket.
The short burst of T20 cricket is fine and so are the ODIs, but Tests require a different kind of dedication. India got lucky with Bumrah but the priority should again be to try and put together a top attack — one that the opposition with fear and India will trust.
On the spin front, R Ashwin, Jadeja and Axar are fine but they are superb for home conditions while providing little in away games. If India want to win big tournaments, they need to win away too.
Big match temperament
It was a one-off match and India knew it for a while, but what exactly did they do in terms of preparation? In the post-match presser, Australia skipper Pat Cummins spoke of how they had been preparing for these six Tests (WTC final and the Ashes) for the last two months.
They’ve made plans, they’ve tried to stay fit and fresh. Some of them skipped IPL because they felt that this was more important.
India, of late, have found ways to reach the final or at least the knockout rounds but then crash and burn. It isn’t as if they haven’t tried a mental conditioning coach, but something is clearly not clicking. Rishabh Pant was probably their man for the occasion but he too is out for a while.
“It is disappointing to not come out on top,” said Sharma. “You get dejected. I’m sure everyone in the changing room is disappointed. Because you work really hard for it. And then finally, to not see the result that you want to can be very disheartening.”
“But the sport is all about picking yourself up and getting ready for the next big event that you have,” he said. “Because if you keep thinking about that, it's not going to help you move forward. And for me, winning championship is the most important thing rather than winning any series.”
These are the right words but at the end of the day, most fans will see them as just that because converting word into deed has proved to be far more difficult than most in the Indian team would have imagined.
