Australia who was expected to steamroll India at Perth, found themselves at the receiving end. The defeat was comprehensive. Indians played a brand of cricket that Australians themselves will be proud of. The Australian bowlers did not have an answer for the batting of Jaiswal, Rahul and Kohli. Nitish Reddy took full advantage of the lacklustre bowling and helped himself to an unbeaten score. The Australian batsmen were thoroughly outplayed by Bumrah and company. Now, there is speculation that the Australian team is in disarray. It is hard to believe because Aussies are usually extremely tough. They are not that easily perturbed by defeat. They will ensure that they fight harder but what caused this speculation? It is nothing but a harmless comment from Josh Hazlewood.
When asked how the Australian batsman plan to salvage the series opener, Hazlewood said,
“You’ll have to ask the batters that question, I’m sort of relaxing and getting a bit of physio treatment and probably looking mostly to the next Test and what plans we can do against these batters,” he said.
Adam Gilchrist responded that it speaks about a divided changeroom. Michael Vaughan, “I must admit I’m staggered by that. Publicly I’ve never heard an Australian come out and divide the camp into batters and bowlers.
Now, I do not want to read too much into what Hazlewood meant. He was frustrated because of the lack of rest between the innings and was made to toil for over 130 overs. These things happen in a team environment where not everyone necessarily gets alongwith everyone else. Australians themselves are a great example of that. Gilchrist and Warne did not get along and neither did Warne and Steve Waugh.
Don’t read too much into it, India
Be that as it may, India just cannot read too much into the purported differences. Differences are not, Australia will definitely fight harder than they have done. They are a wounded tiger ready to pounce on any slackness. This is where India must be careful. They have had a fantastic start to the series. Much against expectation. The series is a very long one. There are 4 more Tests to be played with three of them on pitches that usually favours fast bowling. The next game is at Adelaide where Australia have never lost a game in over a decade eversince the introduction of day-night Test.
Ravi Shastri said as much
“What the Indian dressing room will be thinking when they hear something like that, we know there are cracks on the pitch but I feel there are some mental cracks as well at this moment in time in the opposition,” he said.
“Having come to Australia for 30-40 years, I think this is the first time an Indian team is feeling that ‘You know what, we are better than the opposition in their backyard’.”
It is better if India does not read these statements. They must stay away from the media, both print and social until the end of this series. This Australian team may not be as great as the ones under Taylor, Waugh and Ponting but they are a steely bunch. Infact, it is statements like these that gets their energy flowing.
It has been more than 8 months since Australia played red-ball cricket. They were undercooked but now, having tasted defeat will be raring to go at Adelaide. They have history on their side at the moment. Agreed, they had history on their side at Perth too but at Adelaide, it is a different ball-game altogether. It is pink ball. Indians are not that much exposed to the pink ball. They will be playing the Prime Minister’s eleven with the pink ball but a 2-day game is not enough for a Test.
Adelaide usually leaves a lot of live grass to enable the shine on the pink-ball to be retained over a longer period. It helps in the night when the ball starts to swing. The Indians do not possess any swing bowler. All of them are seamers, the hit the deck variety.
Wrapping up the Australian team is in disarray
The point is, any game of cricket, until it is done, it is not done. At the moment, India must not think of qualifying for the WTC Finals and must concentrate on the task on hand. The talk of groupism within the Australian team is not for India to feel happy about. It does not even matter in the grander scheme of things.
There is also talk about Marnus Labuschagne’s place being in doubt. The Australian public is angry and they want Labuschagne to be dropped. Some have even called for Smith to be dropped alongwith Labuschagne. Usually, when the Australian public is angry, they show their frustration at the opposition. Indians will be bullied on the ground where they practise. Perhaps, the closed-door session that I ridiculed will once again help. Nevertheless, preparation for Adelaide must be taken with earnest and every Australian cricketer, including the ones who may or may not replace the existing players, must be analysed thoroughly. Whether the Australian team is in disarray or otherwise, it is their problem.
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