CHENNAI: Favourites. This is an unusual tag hanging over India as they prepare to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under. The prevailing turmoil in Australian cricket and the absence of two of their best batsmen are surely reasons why they have lost the tag of favourite at home. Despite the noise and general consensus that ‘this is India’s best chance to win in Australia,’ there seems to be a strategic denial of this on part of Kohli & Co.
Indians are used to this tag of favourites in big tournaments. Even when they are underdogs, there is pressure on them, as they are always expected to win. But, despite Australia being weak, the Indians are giving indications that they have learnt their lessons learnt in South Africa and England. Loose talk is the last thing this team would like, given how they backfired on the last two tours.
A few Indian players had privately shown a lot of interest in knowing whether Steve Smith and David Warner would actually be out of this series. Until Cricket Australia slammed the door on the two a fortnight back, few in the Indian team believed they wouldn’t be part of this series. Even then they are refusing to entertain the theory that this is their best chance.
A month ago, Ravichandran Ashwin explained why. “Home and away cricket is one of the major challenges in international cricket at this point of time. One of those rare tours here and there were teams have performed exceedingly well when they have their cricketers in prime form. But it is generally a challenge.”
If one goes by that, there is plenty to suggest why India don’t enter the series that begins on Thursday in Adelaide as favourites. A lot of Indian optimism is based on Kohli. It tells another story, of how vulnerable India’s batting must be if the skipper has a bad day or two.
“No Indian team can be favourites playing overseas, especially in a country like Australia. It takes time to adjust, especially for batsmen because when you land, it takes at least three-four days to get used to the bounce. Balls that usually tend to hit the sweet spot, hit way above. When it happens, you tend to get locked in the crease.
“It’s never easy. Kohli will adjust quicker than the rest, because he is a class above the rest. If India are to beat Australia, the batting unit has to click together. Not the odd man contributing alongside Kohli,” said former India batsman and coach Lalchand Rajput, currently the head coach of Zimbabwe.
Though India have an attack that can match Australia’s, there isn’t much of a difference in batting if one takes out Kohli. It is hardly surprising then that the hosts are directing all their attention to the Indian captain. Coach Justin Langer has reportedly passed on to his bowlers a stat-based article which shows Kohli’s weakness against fuller lengths.
If one looks at what the rest of the batting has done overseas, it doesn’t inspire confidence either. There have been just three centuries other than from Kohli’s bat this in eight overseas Tests and that shows what India’s headache is. “In Australia without runs, it is hard for bowlers to go for the kill on flat conditions. In England, the contest was close because of the nature of the wickets. But in Australia, you cannot expect assistance from the pitch. “You will have bounce, but runs are always there for the taking. So batsmen must put runs on board. Until that happens, it’s better to stay guarded while making predictions),” Rajput said.