Such is the capricious nature of Test cricket that it seems foolish to make judgments. Still, there seemed to be a sense of inevitability about India’s collapse at the fag end of the third day of the match against Sri Lanka in Colombo on sunday. So what if India had dominated almost the entire Test match? Considering the strange manner in which Test cricket has been played this summer, it seemed only a matter of time before India would somehow conjure up a way to allow Sri Lanka back into a game which, by rights, they should have had no chance of winning after being at 49/6.
Like the Ashes, this has been a bewildering Test series. India have dominated large portions of every Test match but have allowed Sri Lanka in at crucial moments. It might seem a tad unfair to criticise Virat Kohli right now when his young team has a big chance of securing a rare Test series win abroad. But make no mistake: there are still plenty of problems that Kohli would be wise to spot.
But first the positives. If this series has shown us one thing, it is this: our bowlers seem far better in Kohli’s hands rather than Dhoni. Indian fans will have none too fond memories of Indian bowlers struggling on pitches abroad, labouring away without much reward or success. This series, this much-maligned lot have been a revelation. Buoyed by Kohli’s aggressive instincts, both Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma have looked sharp and dangerous. Ishant’s five-wicket haul in this innings was a just reward for his bowling. Even the spinners have perked up considerably – Ashwin might have gone wicketless in this innings, but he’s had the measure of Sangakkara this series (no mean feat), while Amit Mishra seems to be a transformed force now. Of course, Sri Lanka’s ineptness with their batting has considerably helped matters but there’s no doubt that the Indian bowling attack looks a far more potent force – something which comes as a huge plus, considering South Africa will be on Indian shores this winter.
And if India do go and manage to secure a rare series win abroad, that is definitely cause for celebration. But it would be wise for Kohli and Co not to get too ahead about themselves. This is a talented and young Indian squad with plenty of potential but there are some major problems that need to be ironed out.
The tail-end rearguard
Perhaps the biggest worry for India is their frustrating habit of continuously letting opposition tails wag. It started as a minor trifle but it’s become something of a major epidemic now. Against Australia and before that England, India would routinely do all the hard work, have the opposition struggle, before allowing the tail to launch a rearguard. Despite a new captain, it seems old habits die hard. In the first Test, Sri Lanka dug themselves out of 60/5 in the first innings and 95/5 in the second. Here again, India allowed Sri Lanka to recover from a precarious 47/6 to a far more respectable 201.
Frankly, it has to stop. India might still get off easy against Sri Lanka but you can rest assured that South Africa will make India pay if they let their feet off the accelerator too soon, of which they seem to have made a habit. There has to be sustained pressure applied till the fall of the last wicket – right now, it seems India’s bowlers tend to switch off a bit once they have gone through the top order.
Relying on individuals
On to the batting now. A look at India’s totals in this series might not suggest any glaring problems with the batting. And truth be told, they have not been particularly dreadful but there does seem to be an over-reliance on individual performances to shore up each innings. If you take out Pujara’s magnificent 145 in the first innings of this Test, only four other batsmen got to double figures. That’s pretty much been the script of this series – India’s batting in every innings seems to be characterised by only one or two performances of note while very few of the other batsmen contribute. That, however, is a tricky place to be in – there will be days when that individual performance will not arrive and there will be a collective failure, similar to what happened on the fourth day in Galle.
There’s a lot at stake on Monday for Kohli when he comes out on the fourth day. India are effectively 132 for the loss of three wickets with two days to go. He’ll know this is his best opportunity to stamp his name in history and achieve a feat few Indian captains have managed in the past. But, and though he’ll probably never admit it, the ghosts of that collapse in Galle will haunt him in the back of his mind. A fascinating end to a bewildering series – let’s just hope the rain stays away.
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Like the Ashes, this has been a bewildering Test series. India have dominated large portions of every Test match but have allowed Sri Lanka in at crucial moments. It might seem a tad unfair to criticise Virat Kohli right now when his young team has a big chance of securing a rare Test series win abroad. But make no mistake: there are still plenty of problems that Kohli would be wise to spot.
But first the positives. If this series has shown us one thing, it is this: our bowlers seem far better in Kohli’s hands rather than Dhoni. Indian fans will have none too fond memories of Indian bowlers struggling on pitches abroad, labouring away without much reward or success. This series, this much-maligned lot have been a revelation. Buoyed by Kohli’s aggressive instincts, both Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma have looked sharp and dangerous. Ishant’s five-wicket haul in this innings was a just reward for his bowling. Even the spinners have perked up considerably – Ashwin might have gone wicketless in this innings, but he’s had the measure of Sangakkara this series (no mean feat), while Amit Mishra seems to be a transformed force now. Of course, Sri Lanka’s ineptness with their batting has considerably helped matters but there’s no doubt that the Indian bowling attack looks a far more potent force – something which comes as a huge plus, considering South Africa will be on Indian shores this winter.
And if India do go and manage to secure a rare series win abroad, that is definitely cause for celebration. But it would be wise for Kohli and Co not to get too ahead about themselves. This is a talented and young Indian squad with plenty of potential but there are some major problems that need to be ironed out.
The tail-end rearguard
Perhaps the biggest worry for India is their frustrating habit of continuously letting opposition tails wag. It started as a minor trifle but it’s become something of a major epidemic now. Against Australia and before that England, India would routinely do all the hard work, have the opposition struggle, before allowing the tail to launch a rearguard. Despite a new captain, it seems old habits die hard. In the first Test, Sri Lanka dug themselves out of 60/5 in the first innings and 95/5 in the second. Here again, India allowed Sri Lanka to recover from a precarious 47/6 to a far more respectable 201.
Frankly, it has to stop. India might still get off easy against Sri Lanka but you can rest assured that South Africa will make India pay if they let their feet off the accelerator too soon, of which they seem to have made a habit. There has to be sustained pressure applied till the fall of the last wicket – right now, it seems India’s bowlers tend to switch off a bit once they have gone through the top order.
Relying on individuals
On to the batting now. A look at India’s totals in this series might not suggest any glaring problems with the batting. And truth be told, they have not been particularly dreadful but there does seem to be an over-reliance on individual performances to shore up each innings. If you take out Pujara’s magnificent 145 in the first innings of this Test, only four other batsmen got to double figures. That’s pretty much been the script of this series – India’s batting in every innings seems to be characterised by only one or two performances of note while very few of the other batsmen contribute. That, however, is a tricky place to be in – there will be days when that individual performance will not arrive and there will be a collective failure, similar to what happened on the fourth day in Galle.
There’s a lot at stake on Monday for Kohli when he comes out on the fourth day. India are effectively 132 for the loss of three wickets with two days to go. He’ll know this is his best opportunity to stamp his name in history and achieve a feat few Indian captains have managed in the past. But, and though he’ll probably never admit it, the ghosts of that collapse in Galle will haunt him in the back of his mind. A fascinating end to a bewildering series – let’s just hope the rain stays away.