MUMBAI: If you are an India fan still looking back at what happened at the Maharashtra Cricket Stadium in Pune on Sunday, pinching yourself and wondering whether the hosts had lost a Test series at home, don't worry. You are not alone. Such has been their home record that, this loss, albeit it was supposed to happen at some point, feels out of the blue.
However, all good things come to an end. And as the fans, players and everyone in the fraternity are letting it sink in, the Indian team management has little time to sulk. They are in Mumbai for the third and final Test of the series, looking for a quick turnaround. For this match is not just about avoiding a clean sweep at home, which has happened only once in the past (0-2 against South Africa in 2000), but also putting the loss behind them and going to Australia with a win under their belt.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir admitted as much at the pre-match press conference on Thursday. “Simple, try and win (on what they want to take away from the match). That’s as simple as it can get and more importantly when we go to Australia we should have a win under our belt,” said Gambhir.
While it does seem as simple as that, achieving it is not going to be easy. New Zealand have momentum by their side and they are as confident as they have ever been on their approach and plans. Their spinners — Mitchell Santner in particular — have breached the defence of India’s batting juggernaut and will be keen to do it all over again on the red soil surface that is expected to have significant assistance sooner than later. And Gambhir knows it too. Which is why, he did not shy away from the fact that India will have to iron out everything before taking the field on Friday. He acknowledged that the loss hurt the players and team management and said that it was a good thing.
“Every time you lose a game, be it at home or be it away from home, it should hurt. That hurt will make us better. What's wrong with being in that position and the more, especially for the youngsters, it's hurting them, I'm sure they're going to push themselves to keep getting better because that is exactly what we want them to be. Pushing themselves every day to be a better cricketer and to do something special because if we have results like what we had in Kanpur, then might as well have results like this and take that hurt and keep moving forward.”
However, to move forward, Indian batters should not be repeating mistakes and batting for longer periods, especially against Santner and Ajaz Patel. A lot will depend on the opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal, but what will be interesting to see is if KL Rahul comes back into the playing XI or if they stick with Sarfaraz Khan who knows the conditions better than most in the team. If batting is one part of the jigsaw, the other important factor is taking 20 wickets. As much as one could expect R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to give their all, one will have to wait and see who is the third spinner. Washington Sundar ticked every box in Pune and had a longer batting stint on Wednesday, but barely bowled. Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel had longer spells and batted as well. It all might come down to the morning of the match and what they expect from the surface.
The bigger question that remains is whether Jasprit Bumrah will take the field on Friday. The senior pacer had a long discussion with Rohit on the sidelines of the training on Wednesday but did not hit the strides and bowl in the nets. When asked about his workload and availability, both assistant coach Abhishek Nayar and Gambhir said that the pacer has enough experience to know what he needs to do ahead of a Test and acknowledged that he is available for selection. However, it should not come as a surprise should India decide to rest the pacer with Mohammed Siraj coming back into the playing XI. After all, India will need Bumrah at his best for the next month and a half Down Under.
About two weeks ago, when India took the field at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, no one expected them to be in this position come the third Test. But it is what is. All they can do is to try and put the loss behind them and start a new cycle of dominance. Whether they do so or not, we will have the answer over the next few days.