Pune: Both India and Australia, when they take the field here Thursday for the first of the four-Test series will have entirely different goals. India will want to continue the juggernaut of 19 unbeaten games that has seen them not losing a Test since August 2015, while Australia who have lost nine successive Tests on the trot in Asia will want to stop that rot. These targets themselves may well define the approach of the two teams on the turf.
Theoretically speaking Australia have a chance of becoming the No. 1 Test-playing country if they win the series either 3-0 or 4-0. But all those associated with the game know very well realistically that is impossible. Australia will desperately hope that with the nine lives of the cat already gone, some sort of a miracle will happen which will at least enable them to keep the honours intact on the penultimate day of the month.
That, though looks difficult keeping in mind the dryness of the pitch which Indian head coach Anil Kumble has already termed ‘a slow turner’. The Indians thrive on such pitches and there can be no doubt that Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and for that matter even Jayant Yadav has already started licking their lips in anticipation of the situation about to unfold.
Australia also have realised the nature of the pitch and that was one of the reasons their skipper Steve Smith has kept the option of playing Glenn Maxwell in place of Mitchell Marsh, to back up the offie-leggie combo of Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe. Rarely does one see Australia going into any game with three spinners, but then when playing in India such drastic measures are necessary.
Make no mistake, this Australian side is much better than the one which toured four years ago and quite superior to the England side who were vanquished 4-0. However, the odds are favoured heavily against them as three of their top five – Matt Renshaw, Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb will be playing their first Test in India. On turning pitches where the technique is severely tested, the lack of Tests on Indian soil can be a big hindrance.
Hence it all boils down to the battle David Warner and Smith can wage against the Indian bowlers. Moderately successful will not work here, they will have to be immensely successful if Australia are to remain with a chance once the first game gets over.
Virat Kohli’s XI looks more or less settled with one likely change from the side that played against Bangladesh earlier this month – Jayant in place of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But other than that India will go into the game with tried and tested combo of five batters, five bowlers and Wriddhiman Saha behind the stumps.
Four years ago when Australia faded away into oblivion after then skipper Michael Clarke’s century on the opening day of the series, Ashwin and Jadeja had scalped between them 53 wickets. Since then much has flown through the Ganges, what however, hasn’t changed is Ashwin and Jadeja’s success rate on home soil. If not anything they have grown bigger (in deeds) and better.
In 1981, when India toured Australia it was, “If (Dennis) Lillee can’t Lenny (Pascoe) will. How times fly? Now it’s just the other way round… “If Ashwin can’t Jadeja will.” Certainly sleepless nights in store for the visitors unless the Wizard of Oz comes to their rescue.
‘A captain is as good as his team’
Indian skipper Virat Kohli stated here Wednesday that the responsibility of leading the side has helped him mature as a batsman and also said that the time has not come to judge his abilities as a captain.
“As a captain, there is no room for complacency and you have to set a benchmark for the others,” Kohli told reporters here. “Batting is my only discipline, so I have to constantly perform. I think captaincy has helped me become a better batsman,” he added.
Kohli also asserted that the captain is as good as his team. “Frankly speaking, I feel that the time has not come to judge myself as a captain… eight-10 years down the line, maybe I will do that if I remain in the hot seat that long,” Kohli said.
“As of now everything is hunky-dory because the team have been performing, the players have been consistent,” the skipper pointed out. “Frankly speaking if the side do not play to their potential, there is nothing that the captain can do. So I don’t judge myself after every series. I will do so when I have been leading the side for a lengthy
period.”
The Indian skipper also lavished praise on his counterpart Steve Smith and said that there has to be a particular reason for him to be the No.1 Test batsman in the world. “For someone who started off as a leg-spinner his transformation as a batsman has been amazing. I think, like me, it is the role of leading the side which has changed his batting approach, he has been phenomenal with the bat since he took over as the Aussie captain,” pointed out Kohli.
During the tete-a-tete with the media, Kohli once more asserted that they are not concerned about the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition. “Listen you have to be good enough to capitalise on those weaknesses… so the best is to be very good in what we do, then automatically everything will fall into place.
Starc reality looms large
Australian skipper Steve Smith said here Wednesday that post the 0-3 drubbing away in Sri Lanka last year, he has matured as a captain. Also after losing nine Tests in Asia he wants to put one in the victory column and it would be fantastic if he could do it in India.
Speaking to reporters here, Smith also asserted that his side are not ‘the weakest Australian team to tour to India’ as predicted by Harbhajan Singh.
“Frankly speaking, everyone is entitled to his opinion. I can’t change that. But we are not a weak side. We are aware that touring India is one of the most difficult things in a cricketer’s career, but I feel the boys are ready for the challenge,” Smith pointed out. “We’ve got the quality which can tackle the challenges out here.”
Smith also said that the tour of Sri Lanka helped him develop as a captain. “I came to understand the sub-continent conditions better,” Smith pointed out. “Some of the boys have also learnt from the tour. So we have toughened up as a side. We are ready to grind it out in the middle,” added the skipper.
The Australian skipper informed that pacer Michael Starc has the quality to have a long-lasting influence in the upcoming series. “To have someone bowl at 150 clicks is definitely an advantage,” Smith asserted. “Add to that Starcey’s (Starc) skills, his ability to reverse, to vary his pace. When the ball is moving, he is one of the best bets around,” asserted the Aussie skipper.
