After a a decade, under the leadership of Pat Cummins, Australia have finally won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 3-1 series win over India.
On that note, let us look at four reasons behind India’s defeat in the fifth Test:
1) Defensive approach with the bat in the first innings
In the first innings at Sydney, India somehow scored 185 runs on a spicy pitch. However, the batters failed to pounce upon run-scoring opportunities and seemed to have come out with an overly defensive approach after the massive loss at Melbourne about a week ago.
All through the first innings, there was no real intent from India to keep the scoreboard ticking. The pitch was indeed doing a lot, and it wasn’t a typical Sydney pitch.
Yet, going into a shell was never going to be a solution for the Indian batters. Pat Cummins and his men were more than happy to just keep bowling in the right channels because the wickets would inevitably come on a Sydney pitch where the ball was nipping either way of the seam.
At the end of the 66th over, India had scored 148 runs at a rate of less than 2.25 per over. Wickets tumbling regularly did have a role to play in the extra careful approach of the middle order, but up at the top, it was the scoreboard pressure that caused a lot of the wickets.
Gone are those days where teams would happily and patiently bat for about 6 to 8 sessions. The game has evolved and batters today simply don’t seem to have the technique to survive for 135 to 150 overs.
With the relentless bowling of Scott Boland and Pat Cummins, wickets were always round the corner for Australia. India failed to realize that if they kept defending, all they were doing was delaying their dismissals without even getting enough runs before that.
2) Gifting wickets to Pat Cummins and his men, and failing to make starts count
The Indian batters individually and collectively failed to capitalize on the starts that they got, and some of them threw their wickets away.
To begin with, KL Rahul, who has been phenomenal with his resilience and patience in the middle, threw his wicket away after he uppishly clipped a full delivery into the hands of the square leg fielder.
For someone who has had the primary role of wearing the new ball off and staying out there for as long as possible, a short of that sort looked needless, and it was a soft dismissal.
Then, Shubman Gill displayed poor situational awareness as he advanced down the track off a Nathan Lyon delivery on the last ball before the lunch break. At 57-2, it was still a shared session at that point of time going into lunch.
India wouldn’t have been too unhappy, losing just two wickets and managing to see the new ball off. However, Shubman Gill, right at the stroke of lunch, for some reason, decided to advance down the track, and then played a nothing shot. He just poked at a delivery, the length of which was shortened by Nathan Lyon when he saw Shubman Gill come out of his crease.
Virat Kohli had played more than 11 overs and just when India would have hoped for a special knock from him, he once again poked at a length delivery outside off.
Rishabh Pant scored 40 runs and top-scored for india in the innings, albeit at a really slow pace. It was evident that he was holding back from playing his natural game.
While it displayed the versatility of this man, it also showed that the batters were instructed not to express themselves and play the way they naturally do.
3) Not putting pressure on a debutant and allowing handy lower middle-order stands
Beau Webster, on debut, played a knock of sheer responsibility. All those years of grinding in the domestic circuit reaped their reward, and bailed Australia out of what could have been a disastrous position for Pat Cummins’ side.
With a deficit of 185 to cover, Australia were reduced to 39-4. India were in a commanding position, but what followed was three game-saving partnerships for Australia.
The debutant slowly found a way to score 57 in his first ever Test innings. Thanks to 57, 41 and 25-run partnerships with Steve Smith, Alex Carey and Pat Cummins respectively, Beau Webster helped the home side into a position where they ended the innings with a mere 4-run trail.
India did not set the best of fields when Beau Webster came out to bat. After four early wickets, India had the luxury to risk a few boundaries in order to quickly enter the tail.
As it unfolded, India were unable to create any pressure on Beau Webster, and strike rotation got easier. Some more attacking fields and bowling then and India would have sensed an opportunity to bundle Pat Cummins’ Australia out really quickly.
4) Ultra-aggressive batting in the second innings and a horror start with the ball
It was a game of extremes for India. From being over-cautious in the first innings to being over-aggressive in the second, the visitors failed to find a balance.
With enough time left in the game, being aggressive was not a bad idea in the third innings of the game, but India had to ensure that they played the balls on merit, which unfortunately for them, only Rishabh Pant managed to do.
The others had some brainfade moments, and got out attacking deliveries that they probably shouldn’t have. from 124-4 to 157 all-out, India witnessed yet another batting collapse on the tour.
It was not an easy track to bat on, arguably the toughest of the tour, but run-scoring opportunities were there to be availed. It was a game of deciding which balls to go after.
The home side were posed with the challenge of chasing 162 in the fourth innings, and this could easily have been a 200-run target had some of India’s batters played with a greater sense of responsibility and maturity.
In what was already a small chase, India got off to a poor start with the ball in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. Sam Konstas and Usman Khawaja came out with a positive intent and decided to put pressure back onto the bowlers.
Mohammad Siraj and Prasidh Krishna did not help their case either, spraying it all over in their first few overs.
In 3.4 overs, Australia had raced away to 39 runs, covering almost one-fourth of the target unscathed. From there, despite some nervy moments, Pat Cummins’ side cruised to a 6-wicket win to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.