India vs Australia: Adelaide victory a true reflection of Virat & Co’s strengths & weaknesses

India vs Australia: India’s first triumph in the opening Test of a series in Australia in the 12th attempt must have come as relief for the Kohli-Shastri combo, whose every move and statement has been scrutinised over the past year.

As Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood kept bringing the number of runs required down, brick by brick, the tension and anxiety was palpable in the Indian dressing room and on the faces of the players in the field. It was difficult to be an Indian cricket fan on Monday morning. Too many close defeats already this year and the team and its support base needed this one to go their way.

TOPSHOT - India's captain Virat Kohli (L) celebrates with spin bowler Ravichandran Ashwin (R) after beating Australia on day five of the first Test cricket match at the Adelaide Oval on December 10, 2018. (AFP)

The good thing was that India were bowling on the fifth day and not chasing. The match was closed eventually with the hosts just 32 runs away from an unlikely victory. On the face of it this is a victory laden with positives. India’s first triumph in the opening Test of a series in Australia in the 12th attempt must have come as relief for the Kohli-Shastri combo, whose every move and statement has been scrutinised over the past year. While the duo has been erratic and, dare I say, autocratic in their decision making at times, no one can take away from them the fact that they have an infectious zest to see this team reach the zenith of world cricket.

Positives galore as Pujara strikes gold

Cheteshwar Pujara’s assured presence at number 3 is great news for a side which has two openers low on confidence. Pujara’s ability to play a block-athon has never been in doubt even on tough away tours, but his ability to convert long stays in the middle into fruitful knocks for the team is something which was questionable. He did get a century in the Southampton Test in England but that went in vain as India lost the match. While his century in the first innings managed to keep India afloat in the match, his second innings contribution of 71 was crucial to take the lead beyond the 300-run mark. Anything less and the Aussies would have had a target they could have chased down.

Ajinkya Rahane’s dismissal in the first innings was the toughest sight to swallow for Indian cricket faithfuls. Here was a batsman perfectly capable of playing the waiting game, someone who has an array, yet he had to chase a delivery perhaps on the 10 stump outside the off. The middle order marshal though would return in the second innings to partner Pujara and take India to a position from where it looked they would seal the deal. But a few wickets and Rahane couldn’t curb the desire to play a reverse sweep to an on song Nathan Lyon and threw his wicket away. A mixed bag of a match but Kohli will be happy to know that his deputy is among the runs.

The other big positive comes from the spin department. On a pitch that started to take turn from the first session of the first day, going in with one spinner could have come back to haunt the team management. But Ravichandran Ashwin was on top of his game as he provided crucial breakthroughs in both innings. The wizard from Chennai was phenomenal in the first Test in England too, but faded away thereafter. Kohli would hope that Ashwin’s best match figures in a Test in Australia would keep him ready for the upcoming challenges, specially with SCG yet to come.

Ishant Sharma might not have got as many wickets as Jasprit Bumrah, but the elder statesman of the pace department was on the money throughout. His tight line and length allowed India to build the pressure which resulted in wickets from the other end and Ishant deserves his due for being India’s workhorse again.

Rishabh Pant was confident with the gloves and also with his tongue behind the stumps, giving the Aussies a taste of their own medicine. His batting style is reckless to say the least but his contributions of 25 and 28 were crucial in the scheme of things and Kohli wouldn’t mind him getting out to an atrocious shot once in a while if he keeps getting the important runs. Although a bit of restraint and planning could help him become this generation’s Adam Gilchrist.

Problems that victory can’t mask for long

Opening has been a big worry for India for some time and the arduous tours to South Africa, England and now Australia have exposed the plight like never before. KL Rahul and Murali Vijay showed some fight in the second innings but India needs its openers to lay solid platforms and the likes of Vijay, Rahul and the sidelined Shikhar Dhawan have failed miserably in the tough tours.

Prithvi Shaw’s recovery from the horror ankle injury is being monitored closely and his return in time for the second Test at Perth will be a blessing for the team.

The team management has been backing KL Rahul but his erratic shot selection and visible technical frailties can’t be brushed under the carpet for long. As for Vijay, the clock it seems is ticking on his India career.

The bowling unit performed well at Adelaide but the inability to finish off the tail almost relegated the team to another frustrating defeat. Sam Curran was England’s hero in the series against India as his cameos down the order hurt the visitors.

Pat Cummins (28), Mitchell Starc (28), Nathan Lyon (38*) and Josh Hazlewood (13) put together 107 runs as the lower order took the Aussies closer to a morale boosting win. While both Kohli and the bowlers deserve praise for keeping at it, the match should have been wrapped up a lot earlier.

The other area of discomfort would be the sudden collapse in the second innings. India were in a position from where they could have batted Australia out of the match. But the lower order failed to keep its wits together and caved in instead. Such collapses, especially in the fourth innings, have denied India crucial wins, even while chasing smallish targets and batting coach Sanjay Bangar has his work out with the tail before things heat up in Perth.