Team India needs to build on Adelaide triumph
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At the end of a gripping encounter at the Adelaide Oval, Team India scored a famous win to go one up in the four-match Test series against Australia on Monday. The 31-run margin was a true indication of the closely-fought series opener. The target of 323 proved too tall a mountain to climb for the Aussies despite a valiant resistance put up by the lower order. Virat Kohli and men have created history by becoming the first Indian team to win an opening Test Down Under. The Indians also ended a 10-year wait for a Test win on Australian soil.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who kept India alive on the opening day with a brilliant 123 and a fine 71 in the second knock, pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammad Shami, off-spinner R Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane, who scored a classy 70 in the second essay, and young wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, with a world-equalling feat of 11 catches, were the stars of India's nerve-racking victory.
Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri adopted a more conventional approach by picking six specialist batsmen in the playing XI and it paid rich dividends. Pujara’s 45-run partnership with Rohit Sharma was crucial after the Indians had slipped to 41/4 in the first session on the opening day.
Blessing in disguise
In hindsight, the absence of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is yet to regain full fitness, was a blessing in disguise for India. The obsession to play Pandya on the tours of South Africa and England earlier in the year had evidently upset the balance of the team.
The Indians can ill afford to ease up against the home side for the remainder of the series. The Aussies will come hard at them in the next Test at Perth on Friday and Kohli and Co. have to be on their toes to build on the 1-0 lead.
The last time India won a Test in Adelaide was way back in 2003 when Rahul Dravid’s stellar show (233 and 72 not out) helped them gain a 1-0 lead. But the Aussies under Steve Waugh bounced back in the next Test in Melbourne and the series eventually ended 1-1.
For Kohli to become the first Indian skipper to clinch a Test series Down Under, he has to make sure his bowling attack stays fit and focussed for the whole summer while the batting fires in unison. True, the Aussies are a depleted lot in the absence of David Warner and Steve Smith, who are serving a one-year ban following the ball-tampering scandal. But it is never easy to beat the Aussies in their own backyard and India have learnt it the hard way in 1977-78 and 1985-86 against relatively weak home sides. Bob Simpson, who was recalled to the side at the age of 41 when the top stars gave the series a miss in order to play in Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket, led the Aussies to a 3-2 win in 1977-78. Allan Border’s plucky show with the bat and help from the rain gods meant the series ended 0-0 in 1985-86.
The job is not even half done for Team India. Away Test wins are tough as the Adelaide humdinger proved, and series wins are even tougher.