The three-match T20I series between India and Australia came to end with India winning the third game by six wickets. Australia won the first match, the second was abandoned due to rain and India roared to victory in the third. Honours shared and truth to be told, the T20Is were a lot closer than many expected them to be.
The focus will now shift to the Test matches but there are lessons from the T20 series that many of India’s players will hope to learn from ahead of the Tests. We’ll save that for another day, but for now, here’s a look at the takeaways from the game at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday, for India.
Kohli finds his feet
In the first T20I, India skipper Virat Kohli looked a little out of sorts. In his brief stay, his timing seemed to be off, he was playing and missing — things we expect of any other batsmen starting a new tour; of any batsman other than Kohli. Such has been his recent form that very rarely does he play false shots or look out of touch.
As his innings began during the third ODI, Robin Uthappa, who was on air, spoke about it as well.
“I may be wrong here but it just looks like Virat is trying to force the pace a little here; he just seems to be a bit too eager. He isn’t watching the ball as closely as he usually does. He usually watches it like a hawk.”
And perhaps that seemed to be holding him back. On Sunday, he gave himself time in the middle initially. He just played regular cricket and suddenly, the touch came flowing back. The innings was typical Kohli — always in control, quick between the wicket, unleashing the big shots with class and timing the run to finish line to perfection.
The 61-run unbeaten knock lasted 41 balls but it had just 4 fours and 2 sixes — as we said before, typical Kohli.
He still wasn’t at his best but this innings will give him immense confidence ahead of the Test series which begins on December 6. In a manner of speaking, Kohli has now arrived in Australia. For India, that is a great sign.
Kuldeep raises spin questions
R Ashwin is India’s finest Test bowler at present. But can the Indian team management ignore how lost the Australian batsmen looked all at sea against Kuldeep Yadav? The left-arm wrist spinner turned in another superb performance (4-0-19-1) and helped bring India back into the game after the Aussies had got off to a solid start.
The bigger question after watching him spin circles for fun around the Aussie batsmen is whether he deserves a place in the playing XI for the first Test. It must be tempting. It has to be.
Of course, part of the reason Kuldeep is this effective in T20I is because the batsmen have to attack all the time in the format. Take away that compulsion and add in the time that a Test match affords and then ask the question — will Kuldeep be as effective?
To add to the conundrum — Australia have a very different team for the Test matches. So will their problems persist against left-arm wrist spin or should India stick to Ashwin or should they actually play two spinners?
For his part, Kuldeep only made his case stronger with another solid outing at the SCG.
Dhawan’s poise
If you needed to pick India’s batsman of the short series, it had to be Shikhar Dhawan. The left-hander may not be a Test regular any more but in the limited overs formats, he is simply exceptional. He knows what he wants to do, he executes well and his composure is praiseworthy.
Take for example this one moment. Nathan Coulter-Nile had being trying to cramp Dhawan for room. He was trying to bowl into his body and give him less room to free his arms. So what did the left-hander do the next time Coulter-Nile tried to bowl the same line? He walked across the stumps and helped the ball along for four.
So impressive was he that Sunil Gavaskar thinks that he might even have made a case for a return to Test cricket.
“If the openers don’t have a great first two Tests, he might be an option. He is going to be around in Melbourne too.”
Without getting carried away, Dhawan, with his happy-go-lucky cricket, has certainly let his bat do the talking.
Karthik’s opportunities
Every time one sees Dinesh Karthik bat well in ODIs or T20Is, one can’t help but think about how he always seems to miss the bus when it comes to Test cricket.
Here is a batsman of such great quality, with all the shots in the book and the finishing temperament to match the best in the business and somehow he missed the opportunity to make himself a regular in Test cricket after MS Dhoni’s retirement and Wriddhiman Saha’s injuries or even a regular in the ODIs — the No 4 slot now seems to have gone Ambati Rayudu’s way.
It was surprising to see Rishabh Pant being sent ahead of him in the batting order, but Karthik once again showcased his finishing capabilities at the SCG. He was an equal partner in the 60-run partnership with Kohli, which took India to an easy win. He also has a superb finishing record in T20Is — whenever he has been unbeaten in a T20I chase, India have always won.
Parthiv Patel has been called back to the Test squad and that might be the end of the road for DK in the longest format but he continues to impress in the shortest.
