The pink ball practise game against the Australian Prime Minister’s XI, is not something that needs to be seriously looked at. The first day was washed out and the next day was treated an an exhibition game. Both the teams were allowed to play 14 members with any set of 11 players while batting or bowling. Something Indian team is notorious during most of the tours. India does not take these games seriously. Sarfaraz Khan was the wicket keeper, an indication how serious or the lack thereof was the team towards the game. If not for the fact that the Adelaide Test will be with the pink ball, I am more than certain that the team would not have approved even this game. Nevertheless, some interesting pointers were there during the game. Let me discuss about those here.
Rohit’s position
Rohit Sharma, the captain, missed the first Test because of the birth of his 2nd child. He is widely expected to take his spot at the top of the order. There is a school of thought that after the success of Rahul at the top at Perth, it will be insane to break that partnership and implant Rohit at the top. Agreed that Rohit has been the designated opener but it will not be wise to break the Jaiswal / Rahul pairing at the moment when they are on a high. Rohit himself seems to have reconciled to the fact and he batted in the middle order during the game.
It is a clear indication that Rohit will be batting in the middle order at Adelaide. As to where, we still do not know. Now, Kohli did not play in the game, will Rohit replace Pant at number 5 or will he be graceful enough to bat at number 6?
Now, I am not going to say that how Rohit unselfishly demoted himself to the middle order. His performance in Australia is pretty bad. An average of just 22 is not something an opener would like to have on a tough tour of Australia. Morever, Rohit of late, has been playing one shot too many. Perhaps, he does not feel that his defensive game is good enough for the conditions. It is better for someone who is low in confidence to bat in the middle.
Shubman Gill is fit
Just like Rohit, Gill too missed the first Test at Perth because of a fractured finger. Gill has a game that will suit the bounce of Australia. His inconsistency is what worries most of us the supporters of the Indian cricket team. He batted fluently for a 50 of just 62 deliveries. If there are any doubts about his availability for Adelaide, he still have 5 more days to get himself perfectly ready. Even his spot has been decided in the game. He will replace Devdutt Padikkal at number 3.
That is all well and good but Gill’s biggest enemy is Gill himself. He has more often than not, belied expectations. It was during the last tour of Australia, Gill made a decent debut. He followed it with a brilliant 91 at The Gabba to enable India to not only win the Test but the series with it. India need the best of Gill over the next 4 Tests. Number 3 is a pivotal position. Is Gill good enough to make the spot his own?
Ashwin will have to wait
Ashwin will probably have to wait till Sydney to make any contribution in the series. Both Sundar and Jadeja bowled and batted whereas Ashwin alongwith Kohli and Bumrah, did not have anything to do with the game. It really is a pity because after a couple of tours, Ashwin finally understood the line and length to bowl on Australian surfaces. The 2020 tour of Australia was the best he has ever bowled outside of India, Sri Lanka and West Indies. However, his batting goes against him. With Sundar’s decent runs at Perth and Jadeja waiting, Ashwin will be lucky to find atleast one game on this tour.
Boland was wicketless
Let us not read too much into it. Boland’s record in pink-ball Tests is amazing. He averages 13.71 though it is a very small sample. A game that was not taken seriously by anyone, Boland would not have given his everything. He is expected to replace Hazlewood at Adelaide. However, Jaiswal, Rahul and Gill played him quite well as per reports. This is a good news for us the Indian supporters. If Boland is nullified and Lyon negotiated, the enormous load that will leave on the shoulders of Starc and Cummins will most probably reduce their energy for the rest of the series. This is where India must have to make it count.
As for Australia, with McSweeney’s struggle at Adelaide, it has opened to doors to open the batting with Khwaja. Konstas’s hundred could not have come at a better time. He may not open at Adelaide but if Australia sees themselves behind once again at the end of Adelaide, Konstas can come into the picture at The Gabba.
Wrapping up some interesting pointers
I wish that India takes such games seriously. It will only help in their preparation. There is no point in worrying about injuries all the time.
https://icricketcritique.com/the-border-gavaskar-series/
https://icricketcritique.com/australia-clearly-is-the-favourite/
https://icricketcritique.com/series-between-unequal/
https://icricketcritique.com/so-the-perth-test/
https://icricketcritique.com/indias-likely-playing-eleven/
https://icricketcritique.com/why-protect-kohli/
https://icricketcritique.com/a-thorough-display/
https://icricketcritique.com/the-australian-team-is-in-disarray/
