The Perth Test could be over before the start of the IPL mega auction on Sunday, tongue firmly in cheek. As Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman always had “Paris” in Casablanca, Indian cricket will always have the IPL. Does anyone care about another batting implosion in Test cricket!
Batting collapses have become a norm of late. In the first innings against New Zealand in Bangalore, India were bundled out for 46. It was followed by 54/7 in the second innings. The slide continued in the next two Tests as well, causing the hosts to suffer a home series whitewash. The flop show in the first Test against Australia in Perth was somewhat expected.
This is how they bit the dust… Yashasvi Jaiswal paid the price for driving on the up against Mitchell Starc, something you don't do in Perth, especially while facing the new ball. A catch to gully ensued and the left-hander perished for a duck.
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Devdutt Padikkal looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Poor bloke, he wasn't in the original squad and was included as an additional member after Shubham Gill suffered a thumb injury. The team management decided to throw him in at the deep end, at No. 3, against a marauding pace attack on a spicy pitch. Padikkal was struggling to put bat to ball. Eventually, Josh Hazelwood put him out of his misery.
Mind raced back to the last two Test series in Australia and Cheteshwar Pujara's heroics. At 36 years of age, he has been deemed too old to play for India by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee. Pujara is behind the mic in this series rather than facing Pat Cummins & Co. Viva Che!
Virat Kohli was done in by extra bounce. A superb delivery from Hazelwood, which the batsman fended to first slip. A forward press might have made it impossible for Kohli to leave the ball, but that aside, never did he look so edgy and anxiety-ridden in an innings in Australia.
BIG UPSET FOR INDIA! #HanumaVihari and @cheteshwar1 react as Kohli falls to an uneven bounce! India loses crucial wickets in the 1st Test of the #ToughestRivalry Watch #AUSvINDonStar LIVE NOW on Star Sports 1 pic.twitter.com/1OJpEzdcdKStar Sports (@StarSportsIndia) November 22, 2024
KL Rahul, promoted to open the innings in Rohit Sharma’s absence, was batting well. He was controversially given out caught behind off Starc on the stroke of lunch. The on-field umpire declared him not out. But TV umpire Richard Illingworth assumed that the spike on the snicko was down to a thin edge rather than the bat hitting the pad. Replays were inconclusive, and yet, the on-field decision was overturned.
Dhruv Jurel was included in the playing XI as a specialist batsman on the back his good performances against Australia A. He got out for 11, beaten for pace. Sarfaraz Khan ostensibly became a victim of perception.
Washington Sundar was preferred ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja because of his batting. The decision to drop Ashwin reeked of a negative mindset. A batting line-up low on confidence chose the extra cushion of a batting all-rounder at the expense of quality off-spin. Jadeja, one of the team's most consistent performers irrespective of conditions over the last few years, was ignored as well.
When Washington guided a Mitchell Marsh delivery to the ‘keeper, India slumped to 73/6. They were eventually bowled out for 150. But for a 48-run seventh wicket partnership between Rishabh Pant and debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy, it would have been worse.
Did India pick the right team? Did stand-in captain Bumrah make the right call by electing to bat after winning the toss? At the moment, the entire thought process looks muddled, shorn of confidence. If it continues like this, it's going to be a long Australian summer for Gautam Gambhir and his boys.
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