If Jasprit Bumrah gets injured, the impact of that on the series will be felt more keenly than if any of the Australian quicks go down in a heap
Bumrah celebrates an Oz wicket recently. Pic/Getty Images
Two good (but not great) teams concurrently out of form makes for a riveting see-saw series that is likely to keep us on the edge of our seats into the new year. Whilst there isn’t much separating Australia and India, a few key fault lines might tip the scale one way or another, but India are by far the more vulnerable to the vagaries of fortune.
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If Jasprit Bumrah gets injured, the impact of that on the series will be felt more keenly than if any of the Australian quicks go down in a heap. When you have the luxury of Scott Boland as your first reserve, it is clearly Advantage Australia. India can barely find other bowlers to support Bumrah, let alone replace him. In this key area, on a man-to-man comparison, Australia are much better placed on paper.
Testing times for Rohit
The batting duels can be argued one way or the other. Both teams have made one score above 200 in the series, many of the batsmen tentative and nervous, despite their rich pedigrees. On pure Test cricket numbers, Australia again appear to have the edge but any team that boasts Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant makes any prediction dangerous. At the risk of being proven wrong, Australia do not fear Rohit Sharma in the red-ball format. As long as he remains in the team, the home team feel that Mitch Marsh has him covered in all three departments. Other than the fast bowlers where Australia clearly outpoint India, assuming Bumrah and say Mitch Starc cancel each other out, it’s that key 6-7 batting spot where India’s depth becomes exposed.
Also Read: At Gabba with hope!
All credit to Mohammed Siraj — he is now perfecting the art of the reverse sledge. Most cricketers sledge opponents to put them off their game before they succeed but Siraj has decided to indulge in verbal banter after Travis Head put India to the sword. As far as tactics go, it’s up there with The Charge of The Light Brigade in terms of tactical nous. Here’s the thing; Australians have grown up with sledging so unless it is targeted and delivered from a position of strength, aimed at destabilisation, it ends up looking exactly as it ended up looking — frustration and petulance rather than anything that might actually have a winning outcome! Head’s reaction was equally poor, but when you’ve just plundered a match-winning 140, only one combatant emerges victorious from that skirmish. Siraj is no Bumrah — he is a steady Test cricketer and nothing more [yet]. He will soon realise that real intimidation involves less theatre and more substance. India have much to fear if he is the spearhead of the post-Bumrah generation.
Learn from past victories
India will need to learn from their last visit to the Gabba and indeed from their recent Perth visit. On bouncy pitches, you need to get batters coming forward. That is when the extra bounce becomes dangerous. Their numerous coaches and analysts didn’t get that message to them on that first evening in Adelaide under lights. Admittedly the Australians left the ball with great skill but the only reason for that was because those leaves didn’t threaten the timber. In Perth, on a much bouncier surface, they bowled with their heads. It is possible that in Adelaide, it had gone to their heads!
Michael Jeh is a Brisbane-based former first-class player
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