Cricket, India: A history (2019)
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
Contents |
India’s 2018-19 tour of Australia
NOTE:
For the remaining part of India’s 2018-19 tour of Australia, you may see Australia vs. India, cricket
Test matches
Sydney: Draw (rain affected)
Highlights
From: January 8, 2019: The Times of India
From: January 7, 2019: The Times of India
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The Sydney test- highlights
Scoreboard- Test match- Sydney, 2018, Australia vs India, cricket
India win first-ever Test series in Australia
From: India vs Australia: India make history, win first-ever cricket Test series in Australia, January 7, 2019: The Times of India
Indian cricket got its new seminal moment after talismanic Virat Kohli led the country to a maiden series victory on Australian soil, ending a 71-year wait to script a golden chapter in the game's history.
The fourth and final Test match at the SCG petered to a barren draw due to inclement weather but not before providing India with a 2-1 series win and the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
It is a rare first Down Under for India since Lala Amarnath's side visited the country back in 1947-48 months after independence to face Sir Don Bradman's 'Invincibles'.
"Firstly, I want to say I've never been more proud of being part of a team, than this one right here. The culture we've built... our transition began right here, where I took over as captain, and I can't believe that after four years we've won here. Just one word to say, 'proud', to lead this team and it's an honour and privilege. The boys make the captain look good," an elated skipper Virat Kohli said after the mission was accomplished.
Things turned out to be a bit of anti-climactic in the end as India had a fair chance of adding insult to the injury with a 3-1 victory margin as they got the home team to follow-on in their den for the first time in 30 years after scoring 622 in their only innings.
It was a 'freeze the frame' as the Indian team took a 'Lap of Honour' of the SCG with the both Indian and Australian fans cheering them.
"This is history and a terrific moment for Indian cricket," said country's greatest opener Sunil Gavaskar.
Top-performers
Such was the fragility of the Australian batting, a full day's play possibly could have been enough to win a record three Test matches in a single series in Australia had the heavens not opened up.
While Australian batting was severely handicapped due to the suspensions of their premier batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner but it can take nothing away from the heady achievement of Kohli's men, who have conquered an unchartered frontier with a lion-hearted display.
If this victory is put into perspective with some of Indian cricket's famous away series wins, it will be right up there both in terms of novelty as well as quality.
Alongside Ajit Wadekar's side's twin triumph in the West Indies and England in 1971, Kapil's Devils or Rahul Dravid's sides' winning the 1986 or 2007 series in England, the members of the current side have now successfully etched their names in record books.
Skipper Kohli, who has always focussed on the endeavour to make his team the best travelling side, has been finally able to walk the talk after the disappointments in South Africa and England where poor batting let the team down during some of the defining sessions.
In Australia however, it was a near flawless team effort from India, especially the bowling unit which has set it up for its batsmen for the better part of last year.
While skipper Kohli hit the best hundred of the series in terms of sheer class on a difficult Perth Stadium track, the unflappable Cheteshwar Pujara (521) and the unconventional Jasprit Bumrah (21 wickets) were the heroes of the memorable 'first'.
With their full focus on how to decode Kohli's genius, Australian team led by an out of depth Tim Paine realised late that Pujara has struck from the 'blind side' with his near perfect defensive technique and three hundreds.
However it was their batting that let them down and a one piece of statistic will scare the die-hard Aussie fans.
The highest score by an Australian batsman in the just-concluded four-match series is 79 by rookie opener Marcus Harris.
Leave alone a three-figure score, none of the Australian batsman could even cross the 80-run barrier, something that legends like Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Mike Hussey, Ian Chappell found difficult to fathom.
Whether it was the awkward angles along created by Bumrah along with some incisive movements, Mohammed Shami getting it to rip on occasions, Ishant Sharma hitting the right length over after over, India never had it so good in terms of consistency in overseas conditions.
Ravichandran Ashwin before he got injured and Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav also played their part to perfection as Indian bowlers put up relentless pressure on the home team batsmen.
While young Prithvi Shaw missed out due to an ankle injury, Mayank Agarwal made most of his chances after an eternal wait for the India cap with two half centuries.
Rishabh Pant with 350 runs and a sparkling hundred at the SCG with a record number of dismissals in an away series has now established himself as India's No 1 wicketkeeper in the Test format.
For Kohli, this series was more about his leadership choices rather than his insane batting efforts which was comparatively muted by his lofty standards.
His bowling changes were spot on and while team selection in Perth came under scanner, no one can question the intent of the Indian skipper, who has shown that he only plays to win a Test match.
No other Asian captain leave alone Indian captain has won four away Test matches in South Africa, England and Australia in a single calender year.
While India now gear up to switch format, Kohli's biggest takeaway will be the confidence before they start their preparations for the ODI World Cup.
How India won a historic Test series in Australia
Amit Kumar, January 7, 2019: The Times of India
Continuous rain in Sydney denied India a 3-1 series victory, but it couldn’t stop captain Virat Kohli from becoming the first ever Indian captain to guide India to a Test series victory on Australian soil. Customary hand-shakes were followed by leaps, fist pumps, hugs and high-fives – all this was captured in one frame after the Border-Gavaskar trophy was handed to Kohli and his boys. India ending a 71-year-old wait to win their first Test series in Australia. India played their maiden Test series against Australia in 1947 and were handed a 4-0 drubbing in the five-match series. In total, India have toured Australia 12 times (including the 2018-19 tour) and finally managed to lift the Test series trophy under Kohli’s captaincy.
India were dominant in all three departments – batting, bowling and fielding. India’s slip cordon, which always becomes a hot topic of discussion after almost every overseas tour also played a pivotal role in the team’s historic win.
Kohli in England, Pujara in Australia
If Kohli was the batsman to watch out for in the England tour last year, Pujara didn’t leave a single stone unturned to send the Australians on a leather hunt. The Saurashtra batsman was the highest run-getter in the four-match series with 521 runs in 7 innings at an average of 74.42, including three centuries to his name. With a highest-score of 193, Pujara signed off the series, reclaiming the tag of ‘The Indian Wall’. Pujara was awarded the Man of the Match and Man of the Series trophies.
Fantastic Bumrah
India's bowling coach Bharat Arun said Jasprit Bumrah's unconventional bowling action makes him one of the most difficult bowlers to read in the world and the unorthodox pacer proved that with an impressive show on Australian soil. Once touted as an injury-prone bowler, due to his unorthodox bowling action, Bumrah claimed 21 wickets in the 4 Tests at an average of 17.00, including one five-wicket haul.
With his second overseas century (after his first vs England), the Delhi lad has cemented his place in the Indian side in a short period of time. After Dhoni’s sudden retirement from Tests, the Indian team experimented with many options but nothing worked in their favour. Wriddhiman Saha, Parthiv Patel and Dinesh Karthik were tried, but they couldn’t do much for the team. When the opportunity knocked on the door of young Pant, the wicket-keeper batsman grabbed it with both hands. The 21-year-old finished the Test series as the second-highest run-getter, scoring 350 runs in 7 innings at an average of 58.33, including a brilliant unbeaten 159 in the Sydney Test.
Time for a new opener?
Mayank Agarwal’s long wait to don the Indian Test jersey finally came to end when he was called-up for the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Agarwal was thrust into the squad following the failures of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay and the youngster had an impressive maiden outing. The Karnataka batsman scored a brilliant 76 runs off 161 balls, sorting out India's opening woes to some extent and gave India a solid platform in the Melbourne Test. The 27-year-old kept his sublime touch intact in the SCG Test as well when he scored a magnificent 77 at the SCG. In two Tests, Agarwal scored 195 runs at an average of 65.00.
The Top Indian players
From: January 8, 2019: The Times of India
Cheteshwar Pujara's finest hour of glory in overseas conditions was complemented by Jasprit Bumrah's superb skill-set, the duo standing taller than the rest in India's maiden Test series win on Australian soil.
What made their performance more special was that they were able to overshadow even Virat Kohli, who has always stood head and shoulders above his peers in adverse conditions.
Pujara, who didn't have a lot of noteworthy performances outside the sub-continent, finished with 521 runs in four Tests, which included three hundreds with a top score of 193 and an average of 74.42.
No one deserved the 'Man of the Series' award more than the dependable No. 3 from Saurashtra, whose dogged hundreds at Adelaide and Melbourne made it easy for the likes of Bumrah (21 wickets) and Mohammed Shami (16 wickets) to press home the advantage against a below-par Australian batting line-up.
Such has been Pujara's dominance, that skipper Kohli's aggregate of 282 runs paled in comparison.
Top performers who led India to historic series win-Infographic-TOI
However, if a threadbare analysis is done on the quality of the five hundreds that Indian batsmen struck during the series, Kohli's century on a virgin Optus Stadium track, rated "average" by the International Cricket Council, was the best.
Rishabh Pant, with his 159 not out did his case no harm, emerging as the second highest run-getter with 350 runs to his credit.
One of the biggest takeaways from the series was rookie opener Mayank Agarwal (195 runs) holding his own at the biggest stage with half-centuries at the MCG and SCG.
On the bowling front, Bumrah's emergence as a force to reckon with in red-ball cricket has been one of the reasons that India starts on even keel in any Test series across SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries.
Bowling from a eight-step run-up with a slinging action, Bumrah was lethal as he rocked the Aussies in their own den with raw pace and incisive movement off the pitch, creating all sorts of confusion in the minds of the batsmen.
With a workhorse like Ishant Sharma (11) and Mohammed Shami, who can every now and then produce a wicket-taking delivery, the Indian pacers accounted for 50 out of the 70 Australian wickets during the series.
Ravindra Jadeja came back for the last two Test matches of the series, picking seven wickets and scoring a half-century, again giving proof of his all-round utility.
Wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav shrugged off the disappointment of his inauspicious performance at the Lord's during the England series, with a maiden five-for outside India, prompting coach Ravi Shastri to call him a serious option for Test matches in all conditions.
Mayank and Kuldeep's emergence as potent Test weapons could certainly be ominous signs for the Tamil Nadu duo of Murali Vijay and Ravichandran Ashwin.
While skipper Kohli made it clear that Ashwin's regular fitness breakdowns in foreign conditions is a cause for concern but the burly off-spinner will still be a handful when India start playing in familiar terrains at the end of this year.
But it could well be the end of the road for Vijay, a veteran of 61 Tests and nearing 35 years of age.
After a nightmarish series in England, Australia was no better for the right-hander, who till 2017 was India's most technically accomplished opener.
With only 49 runs in four innings, Mayank playing a stellar hand and Prithvi Shaw waiting in the wings, it is bad news for Vijay.
KL Rahul, with 57 runs from five innings, has also had an extended run of bad patch but age is on his side and the talent is unquestionable.
One of the batsmen who have had modest returns is vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane, who scored 217 runs in four games at an average of 31, with two half-centuries.
While his place may not be under imminent threat, Hanuma Vihari's gritty show and ability to bowl occasional off-breaks would force the Mumbaikar to keep his guard up.
What worked for India
January 8, 2019: The Times of India
1 INDIA’S SRI LANKAN IMPORT
The temporary hiring of former Sri Lankan first-class cricketer Nuwan Seneviratne as a left-arm throwdown specialist — the opposite number of right-arm throwdown specialist Raghu — proved to be a shot in the arm for the team. Initially hired to help the One-day team to counter the Pakistan attack at the Asia Cup, Seneviratne travelled to Australia with a one-point responsibility — help India prepare against Mitchell Starc who finished his series without a single fifer.
2 ‘CHE’ GETS HIS SPACE
Ahead of the series, as India prepared to get their batting order right, a team meeting was called to take stock of the options at hand. Prithvi Shaw had been ruled out and India found themselves one step forward, two steps back. Skipper Kohli and coach Shastri then handed the task of seeing off the shine to Cheteshwar Pujara. “Just go out there and meditate. You’ll have to be the last batsman getting out. Runs are secondary. Play time,” is what Shastri said and Pujara did what he does best — facing a total of 1258 deliveries for his 521 runs, a good 52.4 overs per Test.
3 MAYANK’S LONG-AWAITED DEBUT
Following India’s win, Ravi Shastri ‘thanked the media for its support’ and no one could miss the sarcasm in his tone.
But if it was not for the media questioning Mayank Agarwal’s non-inclusion at every step, it could have been a different story. Agarwal finally got his moment under the sun when India had no choice after KL Rahul and Murali Vijay kept flopping. Agarwal became the first Indian opener to get a half-century on debut in Australia.
4 BHARAT ARUN, 12TH MAN!
The bowling coach, who has worked behind the scenes for a full year now, hardly sat in the dressing room during the last two Tests. Constantly talking to the pacers fielding in the deep, Arun ensured the bowlers got enough feedback on how the spells were going. Chats to pump up the adrenaline, a ringside view of the wicket and a lowdown of the Aussie batting order came in handy as India’s pace attack — for the first time — looked more threatening than Australia’s on Australian soil.
5 JADEJA, THE ‘CAPABLE’ ALL-ROUNDER
The thinktank didn’t quite trust his services on a juicy Perth deck, on which Nathan Lyon picked a bagful of wickets. But come the next Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the ever-capable Ravindra Jadeja sprang into action, from picking up crucial wickets to scoring utility half-centuries, throwing in from the deep and bringing a great amount of positive energy to the side. A five-wicket haul in Melbourne and a half-century in Sydney – the all-rounder was back in his elements. The sword dance in Sydney after completing his half-century seemed well-deserved.
ODIs
Adelaide: India won
January 16, 2019: The Times of India
From: January 16, 2019: The Times of India
Just like old times, MS Dhoni pulled off a tight finish for India to silence his critics after captain Virat Kohli laid the foundation for a series-levelling six-wicket win against Australia with his 39th ODI hundred here on Tuesday. Chase master Kohli could not take his team to the finishing line this time but Dhoni (55 off 54) and Dinesh Karthik (25 off 14) rose to the occasion with an unbeaten 57-run stand off 34 balls, taking India home with four balls to spare. Australia scored 298-8 after opting to bat.
Man of the match Kohli was dismissed in the 44th over after making 104 off 112 balls with five fours and two sixes. Dhoni, who has been coping a lot of criticism for his waning finishing skills, turned back the clock and took India past the finish line with a final over six.
The third and final ODI will be played in Melbourne.
India got off to a frenetic start with Shikhar Dhawan hitting five boundaries in his 28-ball 32. He put on 47 runs for the opening wicket with Rohit Sharma (43). The latter had another strong outing, adding 54 runs with Kohli for the second wicket as India crossed 100 in the 18th over. But just when things were going smoothly, he mishit a pull off Marcus Stoinis (1-46) to be caught in the deep.
Ambati Rayudu (24) then came to the crease, and while he added 59 runs with Kohli for the third wicket, it was obvious that the number four batsman struggled for timing.
Kohli, meanwhile, was in cruise mode, rotating strike and picking the odd boundary with ease as he reached fifty in 66 balls. The star batsman stayed in the same mode as the asking rate climbed. But it was Rayudu who tried attacking the bowling and perished instead, caught in the deep off Glenn Maxwell (1-16) in the 31st over.
Dhoni then joined Kohli, and the duo put on 82 runs for the fourth wicket, with clever rotation of strike as India crossed 200 in the 37th over to keep pace with the asking rate. Kohli changed gears as he hit two immaculate sixes through pure timing, and reached his hundred off 108 balls. It was his sixth ODI hundred against Australia.
The turning point came in the 44th over though, when Australia masterminded Kohli’s dismissal through some clever field placement in the deep. He holed out to Maxwell off Jhye Richardson (1-59).
Dhoni then took over and put on a match-winning partnership with Karthik. In doing so, he turned back the clock to lead India to a tense finish, and completed his second consecutive halfcentury in as many matches, 69th overall, off 53 balls.
The veteran’s running between the wickets, laced with two sixes as the only boundaries, finished things off in style for India. Earlier, Shaun Marsh scored his seventh ODI hundred to take Australia to a challenging total. Marsh arrived at the crease at 26-2 and scored 131 runs and added 94 runs off 65 balls with Glenn Maxwell (48 off 37 balls).
India brought in debutant Mohammed Siraj in place of Khaleel Ahmed. Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4-45) and Mohammed Shami (3-58) exerted themselves on proceedings with the new ball, and didn’t let the Australian openers get away quickly.
299/4
India’s total is the second highest successful ODI chase by a team in Adelaide, behind the 303/9 by Sri Lanka vs England on Jan 23, 1999.
4/45
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s figures, his best ODI bowling performance vs Australia. This is his first four-wicket haul in SENA countries (SA, Eng, NZ and Aus) in ODIs.
Melbourne: India wins ODI and ODI series
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From: January 19, 2019: The Times of India
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Melbourne- India won the ODI (and ODI series) against Australia
