India unshaken despite Aussie onslaught, extend victorious T20 run at home

It’s no secret that defeat is a better teacher than victory, that more lessons are learnt from a crushing loss than an overwhelming win.

Through a combination of pluck, luck and Suryakumar Yadav’s incandescent reaffirmation of his exalted status in the scheme of things, India extended their unbeaten run in Twenty20 International home series to three and a half years. Australia were the last side to conquer India in their own backyard, in February 2019. At various stages of this three-match showdown, they threatened an encore but India came out trumps, just about, in their penultimate assignment before the World Cup in Australia starting next month.

Few can argue with the feelgood that a positive result brings, especially when the first match has been surrendered. The brains trust will laud spunk and spirit but will also be mindful that they can’t afford for the 2-1 score line to paper over the gradually widening cracks that could expand to a crevice if corrective measures aren’t deployed soonest.

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A month back, it appeared as if India’s Achilles’ heel would be their top-order batting. KL Rahul and Virat Kohli were unknown commodities in the new blueprint of Indian cricket; in the Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid era where conservatism has been replaced by adventurism, the two classicists between them had played only four T20Is in 2022 before the Asia Cup in the UAE in August.

Kohli, more than Rahul, has shown that this new approach, contrary to his natural grain as it might be, isn’t something he can’t come to grips with. He has been India’s most prolific batsman since returning at the Asia Cup after a month-long break, and his 352 runs in the last month have come at a strike-rate of 141-plus. Rahul hasn’t been anywhere near as consistent but occasionally, he has exploded without warning, suggesting that with more time under his belt – read three T20Is against South Africa starting on Wednesday, and a few warm-up games in Australia before the World Cup – he will be a bigger threat at the World Cup. Suryakumar lends innovative flourish and there’s more depth and firepower in the form of Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant, never mind which of the wicketkeepers gets the nod.

Rusty bowling

What the last week has evidenced is that India’s bowling is still undercooked, and understandably so. Genuine spearheads Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel are returning after injury layoffs and the most demanding challenge in such a scenario is rediscovering rhythm.

No matter how mentally strong one might be, there is bound to be tentativeness and wariness in the immediacy of a comeback, with the fear of a relapse paramount irrespective of how much rehab work might have been undertaken.

𝐂. 𝐇. 𝐀. 𝐌. 𝐏. 𝐈. 𝐎. 𝐍. 𝐒 🏆#TeamIndia | #INDvAUS | @mastercardindia pic.twitter.com/5yk3bRnHiV

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Bumrah and Harshal find themselves in that boat; Bumrah’s comeback is only two games young and the rust is evident, but there is enough empirical proof that he will hit his straps soon. One is tempted to write off his none for 50 from four overs in Hyderabad in Sunday’s decider as one of those things that happen, especially in the T20 game, though a clearer picture will emerge over the next week when he locks horns with the South Africans.

The frown lines have come courtesy two experienced bowlers who have played plenty of matches this year, answering to the names of Yuzvendra Chahal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Leggie Chahal seems at a bit of a loss as batsmen have adjusted to his wares and are increasingly looking to take him downtown rather than mowing across the line. There is a touch of predictability to his bowling and fizz has only been an occasional ally. Pedigree more than current form perhaps won him the World Cup nod, especially with selectors alive to the fact that India crashed and burned in his absence in the last edition in the UAE last year. Chahal now has less than four weeks to reinvent himself to the extent that such a short span of time will allow.

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Bhuvneshwar has been enjoying a fresh lease of life this year after a somewhat middling last couple of seasons, but in the last few games, he has been a little short of ideas at the death. Starting from the Asia Cup Super 4s game against Pakistan at the start of this month, he has gone for plenty in the last five overs, batsmen lining him up and bunting him over the boundary with ridiculous ease.

For four matches now since that night in Dubai, he has felt the punishing willows of batsmen from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and now Australia. Perhaps it’s time India relook at his efficacy as an end-overs bowler. Given that they have the services of Bumrah, Harshal and the impressive Arshdeep Singh for that role, Bhuvneshwar and India might be better off if he operates almost entirely with the new ball, when he can be most dangerous with his propensity to swing the ball.

Rohit put on a brave face as he sprang to a spirited defence, though he conceded that there was a slight hitch. Bhuvneshwar’s third over, the 18th of Australia’s innings, went for 21 runs, not the first time in recent memory that he has been carted around.

“With Bhuvi, it’s important that we give him that space. We know he has had more good days than bad days in the last so many years,” Rohit observed. “Of late, he has not had the kind of performances you would want, but that could happen to any of the bowlers. It is not easy to bowl at the death. We are working on some execution plans, hopefully we can give him some more options to bowl in the death and then he will be as good as before. He has bowled those difficult overs in the past, it’s not that he will forget what he has done in the past.”

Bhuvneshwar will escape the spotlight as he will miss the South Africa series, a pre-arranged exercise that will see him report to the National Cricket Academy for conditioning-related work. How well he uses these next few days before flying out to Australia with the World Cup squad could have a big say in how India’s campaign unspools at the big bash.