Twilight challenge: Upbeat India take on desperate Australia
CHENNAI: It's that time of the tour Down Under again. The breathtaking evening skies of Adelaide and Test cricket under the lights with the pink-ball seaming around like nobody's business. The Indian team, and fans, wouldn't forget the last time they were here.
36 all out. While fans would never want to relive it again, back then, Ravi Shastri, who was the head coach of the team, had asked the team to wear their lowest Test score ever like a badge of honour. And boy, did they do. From arguably the lowest point of Indian cricket on the field in the last decade, they made it into what is perhaps the greatest Test series win for the country.
Four years on, as India are back in South Australia for yet another pink-ball contest, it is hard to say whether they will be looking at the scars of that match or the glory that followed. However, things are clearly different from 2020.
For starters, India is coming into the match with a 1-0 lead in Perth. More than the win, the manner in which it happened and the way the younger generation rose to the occasion on their first visit Down Under will give them a lot of confidence. So much so that captain Rohit Sharma, who was injured and missed the last pink-ball Test, had pushed himself down the order to keep the successful KL Rahul-Yashasvi Jaiswal pair at the top. Then there are the likes of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana who showed that they belong at the highest level on debut in Perth.
In a very "kids these days" way, Sharma attributed their success to not having the baggage of the past. In fact, it has been the trend every time India visited Australia in the last decade. From Rishabh Pant to Shubman Gill to now Jaiswal, they have all succeeded on their first trip Down Under.
"When we came to Australia for the first time, we only thought about how to make runs. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves. But look, every generation is different. The boys of today are very fearless. And I think this is working in their favour. Whenever I talk to them or listen to them, they only think about how to win the match. When you start thinking like this, individual performances happen on their own... I don't know if anyone talks to them about these things. This is their natural mindset," explained Sharma.
That said, the next few days will not be easy. Australia are yet to lose a day-night Test in Adelaide and are desperate for a win. They have brought in Scott Boland but will have to make do with Marnus Labuschagne as their fifth bowler should Mitch Marsh not bowl. Despite that, they will pose a significant threat, especially under lights. It all might come down to who wins the toss and who gets to bat under lights and how they survive that phase.
While another loss could put Australia under immense pressure, a win for India would do a world of good. They would have taken a crucial step towards not just winning the series but also having a chance at the WTC final. Sharma, while acknowledging that it is all about adapting and making good decisions on the field, said they want to build on the win in Perth and move forward. "If we keep doing the things that we did in Perth, I think we can get the result that we are looking for," he said.
The next few days could well determine the direction in which the rest of the series goes.