Oz's meek capitulation has forced me to write this piece. I am not a big fan of Oz or its players, but their 'limp surrender' makes a cricket fan, like me who has seen a fair amount of the sport, wonder if they were really that bad. Well, I will leave that for you to decide.
Losing the initiative:
I observed one thing was constant and finally made the difference that the Indians played with a different attitude. They seemed to have learnt from the England series and made an extra effort to stop the game drifting towards the Aussies and grab the initiative back at crucial junctions of the series. In none of the test matches did the Aussies, despite batting first gain a first innings lead, no matter how slender it was. And this to me was the first hit in their thrashing. India did not exactly set the world on fire, but were marginally better than the Aussies and that seemed enough to dissuade the Aussies every single time.
The best example of this was the Mohali test. Despite losing one full day to rain and then going on to post 400 odd runs in their first innings, Oz failed to seize the day. Oz bowlers were taken to the cleaners by a debutant, Shikhar Dhawan. It was not the runs, but the manner in which he got them that once again put Oz down in the dumps. It wouldn't be unfair to say he created that game for India with his simple and tremendous stroke play.
Off field antics:
I understand that every team has a culture and one would like every one playing for the team to fall in line with it. The game we play for our country is far more bigger than an individual. In the face of this, the handling of the homework gate scandal and its after effects were there for all of us to see. The vice-captain went home for personal reasons hours after he was stood down from the 3rd test only to come back and be reinstated as the captain.
Not in my wildest dreams have I seen so much dirty linen being washed in public by an Oz team. It is the stuff of teams from Pakistan, West Indies and India more so. But not from Oz. Definitely not them. It amazed me that they decided to drop their best bowler on display (Pattinson) and the only other batsman who had some experience of batting on Indian conditions for a test match when they were 0-2 down. Whatever was the explanation given, it sure didn't make them look professionals at end of the 5th day of that test. This obsession with discipline will some day come back to haunt them again.
Captain's bad back:
Captain Clarke missed the 4th test and expectedly so. After all he had been carrying 10 others on it for the duration of 3 tests. Too much was asked out of him, as a batsman he had to play savior and score runs too as no one else had a clue where the next run was coming from.
As a captain because he was saddled with a bowling attack who got walloped at will in the first 3 tests.
India pays back:
That Shane Warne should make a mention of the Ugly Australian behavior is obvious. Ever since India started winning more and more abroad, under Ganguly, Dravid and co, there is different attitude about the team. Yes, we lost badly in the 8 tests abroad and to England at home too but still they are not a team who will back down anymore. You saw that in the last test. Siddle traded verbal volleys with Rahane and Warner tried his hand at upsetting Dhoni. Shane Watson got into a spat with Ishant and B Kumar on the 3rd morning. All of this is fine if you can back it up with actions. They went to the press making statements that chasing a 100 would be tough on that wicket. Though Vijay got out to a poor shot, Kohli and Pujara seemed to be batting on a different wicket. Whats more impressive, the way they approached the target with a calm and composed mind was heartening to see.
These are exciting times for test cricket. SA are clearly head and shoulders above all the other teams with 4 of their top order batsmen averaging in the 50s. England are doing well but they seem a long way away from the top. If India manage to have a decent outing in SA (read 1-1 draw) it would really do their morale a world of good and will help this bunch of cricketers settle down in to understanding what would be their roles and where will the team go with them at the core. The Oz series has just about ended and I can't wait to see our lads in action in SA again.
Losing the initiative:
I observed one thing was constant and finally made the difference that the Indians played with a different attitude. They seemed to have learnt from the England series and made an extra effort to stop the game drifting towards the Aussies and grab the initiative back at crucial junctions of the series. In none of the test matches did the Aussies, despite batting first gain a first innings lead, no matter how slender it was. And this to me was the first hit in their thrashing. India did not exactly set the world on fire, but were marginally better than the Aussies and that seemed enough to dissuade the Aussies every single time.
The best example of this was the Mohali test. Despite losing one full day to rain and then going on to post 400 odd runs in their first innings, Oz failed to seize the day. Oz bowlers were taken to the cleaners by a debutant, Shikhar Dhawan. It was not the runs, but the manner in which he got them that once again put Oz down in the dumps. It wouldn't be unfair to say he created that game for India with his simple and tremendous stroke play.
Off field antics:
I understand that every team has a culture and one would like every one playing for the team to fall in line with it. The game we play for our country is far more bigger than an individual. In the face of this, the handling of the homework gate scandal and its after effects were there for all of us to see. The vice-captain went home for personal reasons hours after he was stood down from the 3rd test only to come back and be reinstated as the captain.
Not in my wildest dreams have I seen so much dirty linen being washed in public by an Oz team. It is the stuff of teams from Pakistan, West Indies and India more so. But not from Oz. Definitely not them. It amazed me that they decided to drop their best bowler on display (Pattinson) and the only other batsman who had some experience of batting on Indian conditions for a test match when they were 0-2 down. Whatever was the explanation given, it sure didn't make them look professionals at end of the 5th day of that test. This obsession with discipline will some day come back to haunt them again.
Captain's bad back:
Captain Clarke missed the 4th test and expectedly so. After all he had been carrying 10 others on it for the duration of 3 tests. Too much was asked out of him, as a batsman he had to play savior and score runs too as no one else had a clue where the next run was coming from.
As a captain because he was saddled with a bowling attack who got walloped at will in the first 3 tests.
India pays back:
That Shane Warne should make a mention of the Ugly Australian behavior is obvious. Ever since India started winning more and more abroad, under Ganguly, Dravid and co, there is different attitude about the team. Yes, we lost badly in the 8 tests abroad and to England at home too but still they are not a team who will back down anymore. You saw that in the last test. Siddle traded verbal volleys with Rahane and Warner tried his hand at upsetting Dhoni. Shane Watson got into a spat with Ishant and B Kumar on the 3rd morning. All of this is fine if you can back it up with actions. They went to the press making statements that chasing a 100 would be tough on that wicket. Though Vijay got out to a poor shot, Kohli and Pujara seemed to be batting on a different wicket. Whats more impressive, the way they approached the target with a calm and composed mind was heartening to see.
These are exciting times for test cricket. SA are clearly head and shoulders above all the other teams with 4 of their top order batsmen averaging in the 50s. England are doing well but they seem a long way away from the top. If India manage to have a decent outing in SA (read 1-1 draw) it would really do their morale a world of good and will help this bunch of cricketers settle down in to understanding what would be their roles and where will the team go with them at the core. The Oz series has just about ended and I can't wait to see our lads in action in SA again.
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