Perth: You are a product of your experiences. They shape you, make you cautious or combative, inspire or pull you down. There is no escaping them and you shouldn’t have to either.
That might help you understand why it is so difficult to simply cut yourself off and take fresh guard at the start of every match or even every session. Some are really good at it: they can compartmentalise and focus on multiple things at the same time. But for most, cutting off that link isn’t as easy.
But this is exactly what India skipper Jasprit Bumrah is hoping his team can do when the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy begins here on Friday.
A disappointing series loss against New Zealand — India’s first in 12 years at home — had many questioning the focus and commitment of the team. But Bumrah wants his players to move on. They have to.
“The beauty of our cricket is even if you win, you start from zero, even if you lose, you start from zero, so that’s how I look at the game,” said Bumrah in the pre-match press conference here on Thursday. “We won the World Cup but that does not mean that we became complacent in other series (against New Zealand)…,.”
{{/usCountry}}“The beauty of our cricket is even if you win, you start from zero, even if you lose, you start from zero, so that’s how I look at the game,” said Bumrah in the pre-match press conference here on Thursday. “We won the World Cup but that does not mean that we became complacent in other series (against New Zealand)…,.”
{{/usCountry}}Bumrah added: “Yes, we were disappointed (with the result against NZ) and we were down that we had a tough series last time around, but we are not carrying baggages. We come with a fresh mindset against a different opposition in different conditions.”
Different conditions
And so much about the challenges of playing in Perth are the conditions. India have come from square turners to a place, where in the last few matches, batters have got hit on the head and the body. For India’s batters and bowlers, this could take some adjusting to.
“We are very well prepared, because we came here early, we got some time to spend at WACA, and a lot of the youngsters are coming here for the first time, said Bumrah. “But when we came here in the first time as well, we got less time than this, and we ended up winning the series.
“Yes, we always believe and have confidence in our side, whenever we play, whatever the situation might be. Now it’s all about being mentally switched on.”
Western Australia Cricket head curator Isaac McDonald doesn’t feel the pitch is going to crack as Perth wickets usually do, partly due to the milder weather in the lead-in to the Test.
“I don’t think the weather will make this pitch fall apart,” McDonald said. “There will be some deterioration, grass will stand up during the game and offer that variable bounce. In terms of those big snake WACA cracks, I don’t think the weather will get us there. There will be some really good pace and bounce in the pitch, it will just be how well they look after the ball; 8-10 mms of grass sitting in that range.”
That comment would usually have Indian batters jumping out of the way but this bunch likes to fight fire with fire. Whether that proves to be the right approach against a very experienced Aussie line-up remains to be seen.
Gap in experience
While much of the focus has been on the pitch, just as important are going be the players using it. And that is where India and Australia are in a different zone.
Ravindra Jadeja turned up for the optional nets but it looks like R Ashwin may get the nod. Sarfaraz Khan has been batting late in the nets, usually when the bowlers get a knock. If anything, India might go to Mohammed Siraj, despite his struggles because of his experience in Australian conditions.
A possible Australia playing XI could look like this: Nathan McSweeney (debut), Usman Khawaja (73 Tests), Marnus Labuschagne (50), Steve Smith (109), Mitchell Marsh (42), Travis Head (49), Alex Carey (32), Nathan Lyon (129), Pat Cummins (62), Josh Hazlewood (70), Mitchell Starc (89). Experience in almost every position.
Compared to that, a possible India line-up could look like this: Yashasvi Jaiswal (14), KL Rahul (53), Devdutt Padikkal (1), Virat Kohli (118), Rishabh Pant (38) Dhruv Jurel (3), Nitish Reddy (debut), R Ashwin (105), Jasprit Bumrah (40), Prasidh Krishna (2)/ Siraj (31), Akash Deep (5). Gaps to be filled and taken care of.
“I think if you’re early on in your career, there’s pressure to assert yourself and earn your spot in the side,” said Cummins. “Once you’re in the side, there’s always that pressure to hold on to it or take your game to the next level. It’s a Test match, there’s millions of people watching – there’s always pressure. We always talk about trying to find when you are at your best and trying to place yourself as closely to that as possible. That’s what experience brings.”
The gap in experience could be telling as will the fact that this is a well-rested Australian team. They played their last Test in March and have since been using the time to slowly work towards peak fitness ahead of the battle of attrition that a five-Test series can be.
“I feel great,” said Cummins. “You know, I couldn’t have asked for a better leading-in period. So, hopefully it translates into a good summer. But, yeah, I’ve been really lucky to have four or five months off to build up, get strong, played some white ball cricket for New South Wales and Australia. And, yeah, it’s no real hiccup. So, I feel as strong and as fresh and as fit as I have for a long time… sufficiently underdone.”
The time for talk is over and the cricket will finally begin. At zero, as Bumrah said.