When the BCCI announced that Team India skipper Virat Kohli would go on paternity leave after the first Test at Adelaide, it was clear that the visitors' historic first-ever day/night Test Down Under was going to be their best opportunity to post a victory in the four-match series.
After the first two days of the pink ball encounter, it looked like India would be able to do the impossible of breaking the Aussies' undefeated run (seven wins in seven pink ball games), as they entered day three with a healthy 55-run first innings lead.
However, what followed was an absolute nightmare for the fans as the visitors folded for their lowest-ever Test score (36) and Tim Paine-led Australia registered an unlikely eight-wicket win.
Despite the Indian scorecard looking like an OTP (One-Time Password), Kohli still backed his boys to make a strong comeback in the series. While he cited the lack of intent with the bat on the morning of Day Three as one of the possible reasons for the loss, he 'advised' the pundits and fans against making sweeping statements after this shambolic performance.
In reality, things may not look as rosy as Kohli thinks, with Ajinkya Rahane taking over the reins amid the unavailability of Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami, plus Rohit Sharma not coming into the picture till the third Test.
With the visitors now needing a reality check on their blueprint against the Aussies, there are more questions around the team combination rather than answers ahead of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG from Saturday.
Shaw, Agarwal not fit for overseas rigours?
The team management didn't feel that KL Rahul's experience in opening the innings across all forms of the game was 'suitable' enough to make him Mayank Agarwal's partner against the Aussie new ball trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. But the choice of Prithvi Shaw backfired big time.
Shaw, whose contributions during the two warm-up games read: 0, 19, 40 and 3, continued his horror show in Adelaide. While he could manage only four runs in both the innings together, his over-dependence on hand-eye coordination, sans footwork, led to his downfall as his stumps went cartwheeling on both occasions.
Agarwal's barren run outside Asia in 2020 continued too (128 runs in six innings, with just one fifty-plus score). He couldn't even cross the 20-run mark in both the innings.
Both the batters found the Adelaide surface too fast to deal with during the pink ball encounter due to their slow backlift and indecisive feet movement. The home side fully exploited Shaw's weakness against full-length inswinging deliveries.
Agarwal, who was one of the architects of the historic 2-1 series win Down Under in 2018/19 (195 runs in three innings), was also plagued by the 'Shaw Syndrome', with his stance opening up in both the dismissals.
Following the duo's failures on the New Zealand tour earlier this year and now at Adelaide, the team management may have to do a serious rethink on the opening conundrum. While Shaw and Agarwal may still find run-scoring easy in the subcontinent despite their technical flaws, repeating the same in SENA countries (South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia), which demand a near perfect skillset and temperament, looks like an Everest to climb for the youngsters.
More pressure on Pujara and Rahane
Pujara, the top run scorer during the 2018/19 series (521 runs in four matches), didn't have a good outing at Adelaide. While his 160-ball knock of 43 helped the visitors weather the early setbacks in the form of Shaw and Agarwal during the first innings, the Saurashtra batsman couldn't replicate the same on the morning of Day Three, with Pat Cummins bowling the perfect outswinger that kissed the edge of his bat.
Now, the challenge becomes even more difficult for the number three as he will have to anchor an Indian batting line-up sans its mainstay Kohli. If the first task is not intimidating enough, the openers' complete lack of form is another headache for the cool and calm 'Puji' (as he is fondly called in the dressing room).
While the fans and pundits may back Pujara to replicate his superb run in Australia a couple of years ago, one can easily point to the fact that his job was made easier by Agarwal in the Melbourne and Sydney Tests, while Kohli played the perfect second fiddle in the middle order. With Agarwal struggling and Kohli taking a paternity break this time around, Pujara faces the task of bettering his 2018/19 stats, if India wants to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Like Pujara, Rahane too faces a steep challenge. He will now be taking over the reins of a Team India which, no doubt, will be demoralized after the Adelaide horror. While he will be mindful about the much-needed combination changes for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, he also needs to face the demons around his batting.
During the pink ball encounter, if Kohli's run-out gave the Aussies an opening into the Indian lower-middle order, Rahane's lapse in concentration to fall LBW for 42 under the lights accelerated the process further. Like Pujara, he too failed to open his account in the second innings. His feet getting planted on the crease with no forward/backward stride didn't evade the Aussies' watchful eyes.
Despite Rahane proving himself as an excellent stop-gap leader in the past (leading India to a series win against the Aussies in 2017 in the absence of Kohli or inflicting a thumping defeat on Afghanistan during the latter's first-ever Test in 2018) and captaining the visitors with intent in both the practice matches, the right-hander also needs to ensure that these extra responsibilities don't affect his batting. While his excellent away record gives fans hope, like Pujara, Rahane too needs to better his 2018/19 run Down Under (217 runs in seven innings) to put any pressure on the in-form Aussie bowling line-up.
Can Rahul, Gill make up for Kohli's absence and where will they slot in?
While KL Rahul has a decent Test record (2006 runs in 60 innings at an average of 34.59) and his good form during the limited-overs outings a couple of weeks ago gives the team management some confidence in giving the Karnataka opener another go in the longest format, his horror run during the last tour of Australia will still be fresh in the minds of Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc, who gave the right-hander a tough time throughout the four-match series.
If Rahul comes to bat at Kohli's number four position (in all likelihood), instability in the top order means he may find himself in the middle with the scoreboard reading 30-2 or 40-2 and facing the tall order of staying long at the crease and complementing Pujara and Rahane. The visitors may want to give back Rahul his opening slot to prevent another Adelaide-like meltdown.
Shubman Gill, who was prolific in the second warm-up game with scores of 43 and 65 at number three and impressed legends like Gavaskar and Border with his pristine timing and strokeplay, will now be preparing for a trial by fire as he has to partner an out-of-form Mayank Agarwal in the Boxing Day Test (if the team management feels so).
While the fans and pundits will be backing the Punjab youngster to put up a far better effort due to his superior technique against seam bowling, the team management will be under pressure to take the bold call of breaking the 'continuity' with Shaw and fielding a new opening pair at the MCG, which played a pivotal role in India's historic 2-1 series win Down Under a couple of years ago.
With the clamour growing louder to field the duo in the playing XI for Saturday's all-important game, it all depends on how skipper Rahane and the team management solve the puzzle around the batters' roles in the top and middle order.
Going back to the two-spinner formula only alternative?
At a time when the visitors looked like coming to terms with Ishant Sharma's unavailability in the four-match series, the wrist fracture of Mohammed Shami in the second innings of the cursed Adelaide Test came as another setback.
The Bengal pacer, despite going wicketless in the first innings, put pressure on the Aussie opening duo of Matthew Wade and Joe Burns with his probing line and length, giving hopes of repeating the wrecking act he caused two years back Down Under (16 scalps in four matches).
Despite Mohammed Siraj and Navdeep Saini impressing in the warm-up games, the absence of Shami and Ishant now presents a scenario for the first time in three years where India will have to forgo their settled new ball unit.
While Umesh's inconsistent line and length couldn't unsettle the Aussies in the second innings at Adelaide, Saini didn't look menacing either on the final day of the second practice match at the SCG.
With only Bumrah and Ashwin left to do the bulk of the damage against the Aussies, the flat nature of the Melbourne surface too poses another headache for the Indians.
On the batting front, Rishabh Pant, who scored a whirlwind ton in the second practice match and averages close to 59 against the Aussies, is now looking all set to replace Wriddhiman Saha at number six.
However, keeping in mind the batting friendly MCG conditions, the team management may have to look into the prospect of fielding a playing XI with five bowlers (including two spinners).
This move would bring Ravindra Jadeja into the scenario. While the allrounder has only 1869 runs in 49 Tests so far, his transformation as a responsible lower-order batsman in the last two years certainly makes his case a strong one. His rich bowling stats (213 scalps in 94 innings) and experience of bowling along with Ashwin can also lessen the burden on Bumrah and Umesh's shoulders.
While going with five bowlers means the possible exclusion of a specialist batsman like Hanuma Vihari, Ashwin's good run in the Adelaide pink ball affair and a weakened fast bowling unit may force skipper Rahane to take up this alternative.