New Delhi: Favouring batting depth in the first three Tests hasn’t done any good for India in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Despite fielding a batting-heavy side in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane, the visitors have been bowled out for less than 200 in three of their five completed innings. With the benefit of the extra batter not coming through, is it time for India to re-strategise and change the team composition in the Boxing Day Test?
On the last two Australia tours, India trusted their batting and put their focus on getting 20 wickets in a Test match. To achieve that, they sacrificed a batter and featured five frontline bowling options. The move paid great dividends as India registered back-to-back series wins Down Under. But the template that brought India success in the past is nowhere to be seen in the current tour under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma.
With the series level at 1-1, the time is right for India to implement the tried and tested template to bring some balance to the team and give themselves a good chance to win.
India’s batting woes in Australia
Nitish Kumar Reddy has given a good account of himself with the bat but the all-rounder, as India’s fourth bowler, has bowled only 27 of the team’s 336 overs, picking up three wickets and conceding runs at 4.55 runs per over. The most number of overs he has bowled in an innings has been only 13 and despite helpful conditions has failed to make a notable impact with the ball.
His contribution to the ball wouldn’t have been a topic of discussion if Indian bowling had been firing as a collective unit. Only Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have been part of all three Test bowling attacks which clearly suggests India doesn’t have a settled bowling attack and that’s a big red flag in Test cricket, especially against a quality opponent in an away series.
On top of that, barring Bumrah, who has picked up 21 wickets as compared to the 26 bagged by the rest of the bowling unit, no bowler has stood up to the task.
Moreover, the venues of the last two Tests (MCG and SCG) are not as difficult for batting as the first three were and potentially give India a chance to include a specialist bowler in favour of a batter. Indian team management should trust their batters to come good on MCG and SCG pitches and include one specialist bowler to add more depth in their bowling and, in the process provide able support for Bumrah.
The need for a balanced approach in the MCG Test
But first, the batters should trust themselves and start taking ownership to reduce the pressure on the team’s vulnerable bowling attack. Nitish Reddy would feel hard done by if he is axed from the playing X1 but the Indian team management must take a hard call for the greater good.
India could bring back Washington Sundar, who picked up two wickets in his only appearance of the series as a specialist spinner to reduce the workload of the pacers but ideally, India should go for a more attacking option.
Prasidh Krishna: A potential game-changer for India
That’s why Prasidh Krishna could be an ideal candidate, at least in Melbourne, which has witnessed 80 wickets for fast bowling and only 14 for spin bowling over the last three years.
Moreover, Krishna looked in good rhythm in the practice session and was seen troubling India’s in-form batter KL Rahul in the nets. He has fond memories of his last match outing which was at the MCG last month. The lanky pacer was a menace for the Australia A side and ended up picking six wickets.
With Travis Head, India’s tormentor-in-chief, likely to miss the Boxing Day Test due to a quad strain that he picked up on the last day of the Gabba Test, the visitors have a golden opportunity to seize the initiative ahead of the final Test in Sydney.
The sweet memories of the last two trips to the iconic ground which resulted in historic wins would also inspire some confidence in the Rohit-led team.
All they need to do is produce a collective performance with both bat and ball and be confident in their abilities.
Even if the batting department had performed close to their usual levels in the first three Tests, India would have been able to pick a bowling-heavy team.
However, it’s not too late for the batters to take responsibility and give the team management confidence to go with five frontline bowlers and give the team a chance to bowl Australia out twice.
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