CHENNAI: Crisis situations often cause knee-jerk reactions. Especially, if it happens to be an unprecedented low. It is a sort of situation which leads to 'heads will roll' talk.
The day after the Indian team suffered one of its lowest moments in history, there were no such calls. There was calm. SoS calls were not made. But there was acknowledgment that even if it needs a postmortem, this isn't the time. That no outlandish comments were made to the media hinted at something — the captain and team management still have the backing of the board and they don't see reasons to make changes for the sake of them.
At times like this, teams need such backing. Surely this was an exceptional collapse, caused by a combination of factors that were not in India's control. Former players, who usually jump at every chance of criticising the current lot, were sympathetic in their analysis. It is not that the BCCI is not known for knee-jerk actions. Head coach Ravi Shastri will remember how the board had sent him and three others in the middle of an England tour in 2014, after a string of bad performances.
With captain Virat Kohli flying back home, India have five days to forget Adelaide and prepare for the Boxing Day Test. Changes are bound to be there. Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant might form a new-look batting unit with Mohammed Siraj taking the injured Mohammed Shami's place. The next four weeks are going to test the character of this team, sans its match-winners, which means the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin and Rahul have to put their hands up and lift the team out of the rubble.
Speaking after the match and without taking names, Kohli said his absence is an opportunity for others to take responsibility. “I'm pretty confident that the team will bounce back strongly in Melbourne. A few of the guys are going to realise their true characters and how they can step up for the side. I'm confident that we will learn from this. I don't think we have ever had a bad batting collapse than this. It can only go up from here and (we) understand as a team we can do special things when there is a partnership,” he said.
With a 1-0 lead, Australia will come hard at India at MCG. With Kohli not around, they will target Pujara and Rahane. India will have a huge task, something they haven't encountered before. Barring Pujara, India don't have any batsman who averages above 40 in SENA countries, which only highlights the challenge lying ahead of this batting line-up.
Speaking after the Test, Kohli didn't want to read a great deal into the collapse, but he did say how important it is for the individuals to have a clear idea of how they want to play. “Whenever we have performed well, especially overseas… see you can make all the team plans you want, it is more important what the mindset of the individuals taking the field is. At an individual level, you have to be clear when you step on the field as to how you want to play. Whether you want to take the game forward or you want to play absolutely solid. That you are very sound defensively and are feeling comfortable. As much as you plan on the team level, individuals need to have the right mindset in these critical moments and take the game forward,” Kohli said.