India vs Australia: Another top-order failure can cost India the series - Opinion

With India’s batting being so dependent on Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, this failure at the top will cost India the series if they can’t find a solution.

Not only is the Test series level at 1-all but both teams have similar strengths and weaknesses. However, Australia have one big advantage; Nathan Lyon.

It has also helped Paine that India have quickly been two wickets down in three out of four innings, which means that Virat Kohli is at the crease early. (AP)

The Australian off-spinner currently heads his team’s batting and bowling averages but the former is just the icing on the cake while the latter is India’s big concern. In addition to finding some runs from their opening pair, India desperately need to unearth a method to combat Lyon’s testing line and length and spin and bounce.

India’s lack of decisive footwork against Lyon’s challenging off-spin has been one of the surprises of the series. There has been no concerted attempt to dominate Lyon and this has made Tim Paine’s life as captain a lot simpler. Because of Lyon’s dominance, Paine has been able to rotate and regulate the three pace bowler’s spells as he would like --- short and sharp --- to keep them fresh and firing.

It has also helped Paine that India have quickly been two wickets down in three out of four innings, which means that Virat Kohli is at the crease early. With India’s batting being so dependent on Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, this failure at the top will cost India the series if they can’t find a solution.

The aggressive option would be to throw Rohit Sharma in at the top. He couldn’t do any worse than the current pair and if he achieves anything like the white-ball success he has opening, it would be a huge boost to a struggling batting lineup. This would be an ultra-aggressive move but Test series are won by being proactive, not reactive.

India, however, named their XI and it has Mayank Agarwal as an opening option with Hanuma Vihari.

In the spin department, Ravindra Jadeja will at least provide some form of control with the ball and also stiffen the lower order batting in the absence of R Ashwin.

India’s situation is far from hopeless. They’ll be boosted by the good showing of Vihari. Rishabh Pant can be a little more selective when he bats and Kohli has to convince him that he’s essentially wasting his batting ability at the moment and his contributions need to be greater.

The other problem facing India; Australia found their mojo in Perth and they’ll now be all the harder to beat. Paine forcefully established his credentials as captain, the pace bowlers ran roughshod over the Indian tail and the new opening combination provided a telling century stand.

All these advancements make Australia a feisty opponent but it is still a matter of mastering Lyon that is most crucial to India bouncing back in the series.

It has been an absorbing series so far and a wonderful advertisement for Test cricket. With the festival season upon us, it’s likely --- unless the MCG pitch is a repeat of last year’s lifeless strip --- that one team’s celebrations will be continuing well after December 25.

DISCLAIMER: (The author is a former Australian Test captain and is writing exclusively for HT. Views personal)