CRICKET in whites is back and that too with a bagful of surprises. The preeminent form of the game continues to enchant its die-hard connoisseurs with its twists and turns spread over sessions and days. A historic win by Bangladesh over Australia has set the tone for the season, adding spice to the World Test Championship title battle. The victory is special for the entire cricketing world as it has exposed the vulnerabilities of the Australians who are used to dominating opposition in their backyard. But Darwin has seen another evolution – of the fighting spirit of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh-Australia Test was as much about making a statement by the underdog as it was about finding self-belief. The Desh players deserve plaudits for bringing out their fire and moulded it with grit to surprise the Australians. It was a display of the essence of Test cricket where one session can transform a loser into a growling fighter. It is a war with self-fed inner demons which only a determined warrior ready to look within can win.

 

As Bangladesh celebrate their historic milestone, the Indians are also engaged in a similar battle but with a different context. Searching for their lost confidence against spin bowling, the Shubman Gill-led side is taking on some of the quality tweakers in the Sri Lankan line-up on pitches favourable to their wares. So far, the Indians have shown fine mettle by putting up a sterling show against spin bowling. The first innings has given ample clues of how the Indian batsmen have devised a plan to conquer their recently-found weakness against spin. Young batsmen have shown a fine proficiency and technique to blunt the quality Lankan attack. The strategy has worked well so far and the mix of attack and defence is likely to be the potent response for the road ahead. Yet, the nature of Test cricket and the wicked plots unleashed by the game in the course of five days can easily put a spanner in the Indian plans. However, the immediate sentiment is of relief and joy for the Indian team management.

 

This was the real context of the short series against Sri Lanka. For the uninformed, it looks like a simple series against a familiar neighbour. But the purpose behind the series is implementing a correction course against the spin nemesis. It is rather surprising, but the players known as the best against spinners have come up a cropper in their own backyard for the last few seasons. The problem had assumed dangerous proportions with two back-to-back whitewashes on the home soil. Both losses came against unfancied opponents – New Zealand and South Africa – when the Indian team was primed to ace the Tests with ease. In both the losses, the glaring weakness was unsure footwork of batsmen against visiting spinners. Confusion in strategy and lack of communication between the coaches and players was evident as batsmen chose their own techniques to come out of crisis. The plan backfired badly and the think-tank was left to take the entire batting gamut to the drawing board. Going by the first innings in Galle, the new approach seems to be working. A definite plan is visible to counter turners.