As They Gear Up to Face Australia, a Familiar Challenge For Indian Batsmen
The entire build-up to India’s summer down under in 2014-15 was centred on a certain Mitchell Johnson. The spearhead of the Australian attack had terrorised the English the year before and he wasn’t expected to show Indians any mercy. In the common perception of an Indian cricket fan, Australia is associated with a tall, bulky fast bowler flaunting his masculinity and making the batsmen face some chin music. Johnson perfectly fit this stereotype and was all set to make the Indians relive the fate of the English.
But Phil Hughes’ untimely and tragic death changed a quite a few things about that series including the venue of the first Test. Instead of their traditional fortress in Brisbane, Australia was now starting the summer in Adelaide – a venue any touring subcontinent team would prefer the most. The surface in Adelaide made Johnson’s task no easier as the ball was not flying off the lengths he kept hitting.
Virat Kohli, India’s stand-in captain for the Test, manifested his positive mindset against Johnson despite being hit on the helmet the very first ball he faced. Kohli scored twin hundreds in the Test and took the game agonisingly close on the final day. But more importantly, every other Indian top-order batsman got some runs under their belt and sent a message they were not to be tamed by Johnson’s intimidation.
After briefly rediscovering his mojo in the 2nd innings of the Brisbane Test, Johnson’s ordeal resumed on another unresponsive surface in Melbourne. Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane feasted on his arduous and gruelling spells and he could do little more than watch in agony and frustration as he kept dipping in pace, intensity and purpose. He didn’t feature in the final Test of the series at Sydney and this was seen as a moral victory for Kohli & Co.
Mitchell Johnson. Credit: Reuters
If one closely examines the approach India’s batting lynchpins (Kohli, Rahane and Murali Vijay) employed on that tour against Johnson, the most critical finding is they didn’t shy away from leaning forward whenever the ball was pitched up. The English in 2013-14 were perpetually in fear of that bouncer soaring into their helmets. In contrast, the Indians were much more affirmative even in their defence. Unlike in places like South Africa and England, the lateral movement in Australia is fairly minimal and it is, therefore, less risky to drive a ball on the rise.
And drive, the Indians did with aplomb. It took them courage backed by technique to be decisive on the front-foot against such hostile fast bowling. But over the four Tests, the prolific trio of Kohli, Rahane and Vijay demonstrably proved scoring off Johnson was nowhere near as impossible as England made it look.
Also read: Has Virat Kohli's Self-Belief Become Self-Defeating?
Four years since that series, as India gear up to face Australia down under one more time, Johnson has long retired from all forms of the game. The Indian batting core, on the other hand, consists more or less of the same personnel but while Kohli is four years wiser, the others, well, just older. Vijay’s career was believed to be all but over not very long ago and both Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have found themselves out of the playing XI in different Tests this year.
The present Australian bowling attack is arguably a more potent one compared to the one led by Johnson. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins each bring a very distinct dimension, which multiplies a batsman’s challenge threefold. Starc has the natural angle leaving the right-handers and also brings the ball back in at serious pace. Cummins is the most skilful of the lot making the ball talk on even the most placid of surfaces. Hazlewood, though not as quick as the other two, hits the bat the hardest off the three-quarter Australian length. And Nathan Lyon is the only spinner in the world who consistently extracts overspin off these hard wickets. This one is as complete a bowling attack as any captain could ask for.
Australian bowler Mitchell Starc. Credit: Reuters
In the Ashes last summer, both Cummins and Hazlewood relentlessly targeted the England captain Joe Root while Starc troubled the lower middle order. Australia is likely to have a similar plan compartmentalising the Indian batting into Kohli and the rest.
The Indian batsmen, on the other hand, are caught in a dilemma of sorts. Barring Kohli, none has set the stage afire this overseas cycle. They would therefore naturally tread on the side of caution against an extremely formidable attack. Caution, however, has rarely earned teams runs against this set of bowlers. Only actively looking to score has. And while it will be foolhardy to throw caution out the window, Indian batsmen must continue to show the kind of urgency they did against Johnson on their previous assignment.
Also read: At Edgbaston, Virat Kohli Conquers His Final Frontier
But for some extraordinary turn of fortunes, Kohli is quite likely to continue batting the way he has been doing all this year. It’s how those around him bat will determine if India can pull off their first-ever series win in Australia. But for that to happen, Kohli must pick his men with utmost conviction and then back them right through. If they are constantly batting for a place in the next Test, they aren’t likely to be even a tad bit adventurous, which is not in the team’s best interests.
Virat Kohli. Credit: Reuters
The Indian bowling attack is coming into this series with a tall reputation. But not much emphasis is put on the helpful conditions in South Africa and England in which they thrived. The spicy pitches in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Birmingham present a flatteringly deceptive account of their pedigree. Australia on the other hand has been a ruthless place for visiting seamers and the Indian attack is quite likely to meet the same fate.
Other than Bumrah, who is on his first tour down under, none from the pack has either the action or the tendency to hit the lengths, which allow the ball to lift quickly off the pitch. Four out of India’s five fast bowlers in the squad have had forgettable outings in Australia. Kohli must not get carried away with the media inflated perception of their quality. He’s already had a chance to reset those expectations from the warm-up match.
It will therefore once again be vital for the Indian batting to step up and match Australia run for run with the hope of Kohli beating the law of averages at the toss. Four years ago, the scale of the challenge in front of an inexperienced Indian batting lineup was much higher. Johnson’s aura in itself was enough to put them on the back-foot. But they refused to give in and the runs they piled up allowed India to limit their losses to a rather respectable 2-0 scoreline. The onus once again will be on the same group of batsmen to set the games up in the hope of the bowlers then running through the inexperienced Australian batting.
The media is understandably dedicating too much airtime on the lack of big names in the Aussie roster. But while looking to exploit that advantage to the fullest, India must not forget it’s the new faces like Lungi Ngidi and Sam Curran that hurt them the most in, not to mention, what was dubbed their ‘best chance to win’ in South Africa and England too.
Parth Pandya is an Ahmedabad-based freelance sports writer.
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