PROVE METTLE

 

 

 

THE scars of ‘Pink Humiliation’ in Adelaide are set to singe Team India for a long time. Hitting a new low in Test cricket, the ignominy of 36 all out will be a huge baggage for the young team that is now locked in a battle of honour for the remainder of their sojourn Down Under. It’s a burden too heavy to carry and in its pursuit of redemption in the next three Tests, Indian cricket has an acid test to undergo.

 

They don’t call Test cricket as the real test of a player’s character for nothing! The two innings in Adelaide was another reminder for Indian team what a great leveler the game is. Sitting pretty on a first-innings lead, dreaming of a vital edge over the hosts, India’s freefall to the nether side is a lesson for all that every day is a start from scratch, whether in sports or in life. The nightmare needs to be shoved under the carpet for now, for, there is battle to fight and an honour to win. Easier said than done, of course. India’s shell shocking fall from grace in the second innings was as much a product of Australian pace attack’s spectacular show as the Indian batsmen’s faulty technique. While some batsmen fell to absolute peach of deliveries, forced into a false shot, there was a general tendency of getting rooted to the crease. This has been an age-old problem for Indian batters on seamer-friendly wickets.

 

The first innings show of captain Virat Kohli had the right technique – of back and across movement to cover the swing – for others to emulate. All failed, and that too miserably. Agreed, the vagaries of pink-ball cricket are too tricky to tackle. But the Indian capitulation in the second innings came in mid-summer Sun and not in the most-difficult ‘twilight zone’ that has made day/night Tests a sort of a lottery. Going by the first innings batting performance the Indians had no reason to surrender so meekly in the face of a sustained onslaught by pacers. Test cricket is all about biding time and wearing down the bowlers.

 

The problem needs a quick-fix before the dangerous Aussies inflict another humiliation to avenge last series loss. In the hindsight, the Indian let the Aussies off the hook to live another day with their pathetic fielding. Had they held on to the easy dollies, Australia would have been under a huge deficit in the first innings. These things play a big role in a team’s morale. Narrowing down the lead was sort of a moral victory for Australia which spurred them to bring in their lethal best with the ball. Now is the time for India to take a leaf out of the Aussie playbook and come back all guns blazing. It is not easy without Kohli but India do have the men who can fill in the void. In fact, the absence of Kohli should be the biggest driving force for India to prove their mettle.

 

Learning from the embarrassment is the only way forward for India in the series. Going into the series the team now needs a reshuffle of personnel. Prithvi Shaw has come as a cropper both with bat and as a fielder. He must be replaced by Shubman Gill who looks a sound batsman. A rookie must also get a look-in in place of the injured Mohd Shami. Taking out the positives from Adelaide, India should ponder over the fact that they dominated the Aussies for six full sessions. Tests are all about winning sessions and building defences. India must rise to the occasion.