Team India's tour of Australia, famously known as the 'Agneepath Series', started off on a sour note as they were thrashed by Australia in the first match by 122 runs. Sadly, a similar story looms large in the ongoing second Test in Sydney.
The first Test at the MCG proved what everyone knew about India in overseas conditions: the fact that they are poor starters, their batsman struggle to acclimatise quickly and that the team is almost incapable of wrapping up the tail quickly. History has shown that Indian teams have bounced back after defeats in series openers, but as evident in the disastrous tour of England and now in Australia, the contest on the cricket field has looked like a contest of 11 men against 11 babies sorely in need of mothering. Continue reading below
On day two at the SCG, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke packed plenty of clout, with the former reaching his first Test ton in almost two years and the latter racking up a maiden double-century. Both captain and former captain ripped apart India's ridiculous bowling attack.
The second day started in full swing and the match has been ruthlessly one sided. The Aussies have piled on the runs to the misery of Indian viewers. India's cricketers aren't helping to change the mood of the fans either with their negative body language on the field. It is just beyond anyone's imagination what MS Dhoni really wants out of his fielders and bowlers. That 22 of 90 overs bowled on the day came from part-timers like Virat Kohli and Virender Sehwag proved that India came nowhere near troubling the batsmen.
The game is all but lost. By keeping deep fields, letting easy singles and not putting any pressure on the batsmen India surrendered. Dhoni has played into Australia's hands; his captaincy and field placements have to be censured. But, a captain is only as good as his team, and apart from Zaheer Khan, the other bowlers were only going through the motions.
Before this series Australia's batting was out of form and vulnerable but this Indian bowling attack has allowed likes of Ponting, Clarke and Michael Hussey roar back in form. This will surely haunt them in the remaining Tests and upcoming ODI series.
Ponting's 40th century was a glorious moment for him and Australian fans but for an Indian supporter the truth was stark: such a rubbish attack would make even a struggling batsman appear like the best in the world. This is an utter disgrace.
Ishant Sharma is just not good enough to play in these conditions leave alone that magical spell he bowled to Ponting three years back. Umesh Yadav looked good in the first Test but in Sydney a familiar story has unfolded, with India's rookie pacers turning out to be woefully inconsistent. R Ashwin has finally realised how hard is it to bowl on tracks that don't assist the spinners.
Now let's talk about India's batting, vaunted as one of the best lineups in the world. Since the Lord's Test against England in July, India have managed to cross the 300-run mark only once away from home. This highlights the consistent inability of the Indian battling line-up to post challenging totals.
Gautam Gambhir is clearly struggling. The grit and fight in his technique has been substituted by unwanted tentativeness. He needs to be dropped come what may for the Perth Test. India should bring in Rohit Sharma and open with Rahul Dravid along with Virender Sehwag, whose remarkable ability to get a start and throw it away is now reaching epic proportions. As for Dravid, the timing and fluency that he displayed in England appears to have almost deserted him in the face of a relentless three-pronged pace attack.
The most shocking numbers are those of VVS Laxman. On the current tour to Australia, he hasn't touched double-figures yet and is struggling to replicate his famous exploits against the same opposition. Unless he conjures up another SCG special in the second innings, Laxman appears at the end of his career. Tellingly, Ashwin has done a lot better than Laxman, grinding it out in the middle. Next to him is Virat Kohli, who sorry to say is just not a Test-match player yet. He needs lots of grooming before he can play Tests in these conditions.
The only positive – if it can be termed that - in India's batting line-up has been Sachin Tendulkar. He has got the starts in all three innings but a tendency to go for his shots has meant Tendulkar has gotten out at inopportune times. Tendulkar holds the key in the remaining Tests if India manage to salvage some pride on foreign soil. But given the current temperament of the batsmen, even that appears unlikely.
