5 Reasons Why Australia Lost Test Cricket Series Against India

                          Test series is over between India and Australia and that was lost by the later side 0-4. As Aussies tasted their worst defeat against India in the test history so it becomes a necessity for them to do post mortem of the series and find out the reasons for this huge loss. There could be number of reasons for the loss out of which top 5 reasons are:

Inexperienced side     

            After the departure of the Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey the batting looked like a one man army. There was no batsman in the line up who can be considered as the match savor. There was only one man that too captain Clarke himself who scored highest run in the calendar year 2012 in test and it created extra pressure on him. Except him there was no one to rely upon and also the injury of key players did no favor to them. Like batting there was big void in the bowling as no one had decent record in the sub-continents. Injury of Watson didn’t let him to bowl in the entire series. This was also a setback to them as he is a quality all rounder.  Approximately, half of the squad members were playing their first test series in India. So that lack of experience in Indian condition proved costly as well. Experts also claimed that, this was the worst team to tour India in the history.  

Weakness against Slow & Turning pitches   

                As expected, team India welcomed their counter parts with the turning tracks. Most of the players were playing for first time in India in tests so they were not experienced with the slow and turning tracks as they are used to of playing in the Australia where they have quick and bouncy pitches. So, in the series that is dominated by the spinners they couldn’t find a way to go. 

 

Lack of Quality spinner

                   It is well known that in India the wickets are best suited for the spinners. As India has two top quality spinners in their kitty they made the track that suited them best. Even on the helpful tracks, Australian spinners find it tough to take wickets. This shows that they don’t have the kind of spinners needed to pick wickets in Indian conditions. Australian spinners were very inexperienced and looked like if they are one day bowlers. That’s why they struggled in the series except in the Delhi test were Lyon bowled reasonably well. 

Good show by new Indian players

               The series that is dominated by Indian team, they also found some future players in  Dhawan, Vijay, Pujara, Jadeja and B Kumar in the absence of Sehwag and Gambhir. With Vijay and Pujara being the top two highest run scorers in the test series they provided solid start and also a solid no.3 position and also cemented their place in the squad. Shikhar Dhawan who replaced Sehwag scored a big hundred in debut test. Jadeja impressed with his performance with the bowl and his fielding. In bhuwaneshwar, India found a new and young swing bowler. The quality performances by the young Indian stars led to the series victory for them.

Poor Captaincy

              If a team loses test series 4-0 i.e., they lost every match of series then there is something wrong with the captaincy as well. Australian team couldn’t register a single draw in series and also lost their last 2 tests within 4-days and 3-days respectively. All this shows that the available resources were not handled and utilized well that led to debacle of the team as well as  their worst defeat in last 30 years.

Indian Lions Hunted Australian Kangaroos

        Last test match of Border – Gavaskar trophy between India and Australia played at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, Delhi finished within three days and team India won it comprehensively. The test match was evenly poised for both the teams at the end of first inning. Team Australia scored 262 in the first innings while in response of that team India scored 272, so India got a lead of the 10 runs. On the turning tracks Australia weren’t looking comfortable at all in the series and Kotla was no exception of that for them in the first innings. 

Indian Team with Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2013

          Trailing by 10 runs, Australia started their innings with new opening pair of Warner and Maxwell. But things didn’t change for them only change was that Jadeja created panic for them in place of Ashwin. Yes, it was Jadeja who picked up quick wickets of both the openers Maxwell and Warner at the score of 20. That opened up the flood gates for the India and they picked up the wickets at the regular interval and at lunch they were struggling on the score of 89 at loss of 5 wickets. The story remained same after lunch as well and Australia bundled up at 164. It was lower order batman Siddle who shown some resistance and score second 50 in the test. Only Siddle displayed some application and struggled against the Indian spinners to give Aussies a chance in match. For India R. Jadeja picked up 5 wickets for first time in his test career and Ashwin-Ojha picked up 2 wickets each while Ishant got one wicket.

            

       Team India started the chase of target 155 with positive intent and displayed the aggression as well. But the opening did not stand for too long and Vijay departed at the team score of 19. Virat Kohli joined the Pujara and they started building the inning and completed the 50 of team India in 9^th over. At tea, the score of India was 72 at the loss of the Vijay’s wicket. After tea, they forwarded their inning very nicely and build up the partnership of 100 in between them. On the turning track, they simply null out the effect of Lyon who picked up 5 wickets in the first innings. 

       At the score 123, Lyon departed the well settled V. Kohli on 41 which followed by the departure of the Sachin and Rahane. So from 123/1, the score became 128/4 while Pujara was still on crease after scoring a well crafted half century. With Pujara, Dhoni finished off the proceeding with a boundary of Lyon and took India home with a 4-wicket win over the mighty Australians. With this win team India won the series 4-0 and also the prestigious Border-Gavaskar trophy.  For the all round performance of 43 runs and 8 wickets in the match Jadeja awarded Man of the Match while, Ashwin awarded with the Man of the Series for his brilliant bowling performance and picking up 29 wickets in the series.  

Man of the Series R. Ashwin

Man of the Match Ravindra Jadeja

                     
         For the first time in history of test cricket India won a series 4-0 against the Aussies. In Australia test history they have been whitewashed (in a series of 3 or more tests) for the fourth time and first time in last 30 years. It is one of the worst series defeat for team Australia in recent past. Now, team India is to tour South Africa so it will be interesting to see how the new stars of India perform in the tough conditions, which will welcome them in South Africa against the no. 1 side of the test cricket. Finally after a long interval of time team India won a series and that too with 4-0. That will be quite satisfying and motivating for them.

                                                   

            Congratulations to team India For Series win and, Tough luck to mighty Australians.   

Dream Test Cricket Debut for Shikhar Dhawan

                   The 3^rd test of the series between Australia and India was a debut test match for the Left handed batman Shikhar Dhawan. He has batting average of the 45.80 in first class, but last year he scored runs in domestic circuit at an average of more than 55, that helped him to get selected in the team. He got his chance to make against the Australia in place of the Sehwag, who was dropped from the team due to bad luck with run of later. The match turns out to be a dream debut of the Delhi batsman as he scored a century in the debut test.

Shikhar Dhawan celebrating his Maiden Century against Australia

                  Shikhar Dhawan scored the century in just 85 balls. With this he also made the world record of scoring the fastest century in debut test of just 85 balls. He broke the record of scoring century in 93 balls made by West Indies batsman Devon Smith. He scored his maiden century in just  85 deliveries with the help of 21 strokes to the boundary. He played his inning quite freely without showing any kind of nerve and that too at the strike rate of 117.6, like if he was batting in ODI. Before getting got out on the score of 187 on the delivery of N Lyon caught by Cowan, he has shown a lot of character and skill and also the hunger to play it big that’s what matters in the test cricket. He scored 187 runs of just 174 deliveries comprising of the 33 boundaries and 2 sixes. 

                   He became the highest scorer in a debut test for India, while 6^th in the world overall. Not only he scored the fastest century but also put on a partnership of 289 for the first wicket, that is India’s highest first wicket score against the mighty Australians. Shikhar Dhawan has made an impact with the century in the test cricket against the formidable opponent Australia. Now as he got the dream start to his career, all he needs to carry on like this and play big for the team India like his mentor Sehwag.  

Can India Win 2nd Test Cricket Match in 4 days?

           Indians are on the roll in the present series that is being played between India and Australia. At 2nd day of the 3rd test of which first day was washed out due to the rain, Aussies managed to score 273 at the loss of the 7 wickets. The Aussies openers make the decision of batting first correct after winning the toss by Captain Clarke with century partnership for the first wicket. The first session of the game belonged completely to the Aussies, as they managed to score 109 without losing a single wicket. In second session too, Aussie openers started cautiously and put on 139.

David Warner & Ed Cowan Put on Century Stand in 3rd Test

       
        At the score of 139 David Warner got out of the R. Jadeja at the personal score of 71. Captain Clarke, who came at number 3 for the first time in the series, got out stumped by Dhoni on the delivery of the Jadeja for duck, the score changed from 139/0 to 139/2. Clarke has been dismissed by Jadeja for second time in a row. That made the entrance of P. Hughes who has been a flop in the series and also vulnerable against the spinners. He was looking uncomfortable again in the match as he took 26 deliveries to open his account with a single, meanwhile Ed Cowan played his part with patience and determination.  P. Hughes who wasn’t looking comfortable got out of the bowling of P. Ojha who was playing his first test in the series replacing out of form H. Singh. That made the entry of the Steven smith who is also playing for first time in the series. 

                   

        Smith and Cowan carried the inning forward in which Cowan was cool and compose but Smith was playing with controlled aggression. He struck a beautiful six straight over the bowler’s head of Ojha; it was also the first six of match. At the score of the 198, Cowan got out at the score of 86 on the bowling of the Ashwin caught by Kohli, who earlier dropped two opportunities, so Ashwin got a wicket. Wicket-keeper batsman Haddin came to crease after the departure of Cowan and put on a partnership of 46 with S.Smith. At the score of 244 another double blow came for them from Ishant Sharma as he departed first Haddin at 21 followed by Henriques rattling his stumps in the same over.  Quickly Jadeja got better of Siddle and the score became 251/7. After this Starc and Smith negotiated the Indian bowling very well and at the end of the day the score for the Australia is 273/7 while Smith is playing on 58 and Starc on 20. The Smith struck 3^rd test fifty in his career and that will definitely provide him the boost needed for his career.

R Jadeja Celebrating a dsimissal

  R. Jadeja was hero of the day as he picked us 3 crucial wickets which helped Indian team to make a hold on the  match. Ishant picked up 2 wickets in his 50^th test match while Ashwin and Ojha picked up 1-wicket each.

   
Now the question are,  

1. Can Australian team touch the score of 300 on 3^rd day?      
2. Can India win this test in 4 days ?

Indian Cricket Team Selection For Remaining Matches Against Australia

             Indian cricket team has been declared for the remaining matches against Australian team in Border Gavaskar Trophy. BCCI selection committee have dropped the out of form opening batsman Virendra Sehwag who has been struggling very badly for runs in the series, but retained the out of form Harbhajan Singh. Dropping of the Virendra Sehwag could be seen as the tough but a good move for Indian team as he has been out of touch for the longer period, but why not the same strategy for off spinner Harbhajan Singh. Harbhajan Singh who is struggling very badly in the series against the weak Australia batting line-up has been given opportunity. Harbhajan is not struggling only in this but he has been out of the form for couple of years may be? 

 

Harbhajan Singh & Pragyan Ojha

          In the presence of inform spinner Pragyan Ojha who took some 20 wickets in last series against England, Harbhajan is in the playing squad. Pragyan was the highest wicket taker for India in last test series against England is warming the match while the bowler who is struggling to pick up a wicket has been retained in the squad. It is quite funny situation that a highest wicket taking bowler in last series is dropped in very next series without any reason of dropping.

            It is simply ridiculous and foolish decision to drop the inform player for a out of form player. In the present team India selection one in form player is making way for the out of form player. What they saw in Harbhajan Singh who even struggled to pick up wickets in the Indian domestic tournament Ranji  Trophy? The impact of this kind of poor selection can be discussed only after the match result and also looking at the performance of the player.
 

           This question can be answered by the selectors only why Pragyan Ojha is out of the squad while Harbhajan Singh is constantly in the Indian squad.

Inida wins 2nd Test Cricket Match Against Australia

             The wait is over and the result of second test cricket match between Australia and India is as expected. India registered their second highest win over Aussies by an Innings and 135 runs as it was predicted by me in last article of March 4th, 2013. The bad luck with run for Aussie batsman or I must say their struggle on the slow and turning track of sub-continent is still going on. Lack of dedication and application from the Aussies batsman on the pitch led to their 2nd consecutive loss in the series.

Ravichandran Ashwin celebrating a wicket

              Ishant provided India the initial breakthrough by picking up the wicket of S. Watson and that open up the floodgates for Indian spinners. Jadeja and Ashwin shared 3 wickets each out of remaining 7 wickets and one was a run out on the direct throw by the live wire in field R. Jadeja. So, in short Pujara, Ashwin and Jadeja are the heroes for India team to help them register the victory in just over 3-days and a session.

             As expected Cheteshwar Pujara was adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant double hundred in the test match which proved very vital in the win for India. Batting skills and cool temperament displayed by the Cheteshware Pujara has proved all his contributions in the domestic cricket. His performance has proved that he is going to be good player in the long run and he has all those qualities which make him the replacement of the great Rahul Dravid at the number 3 batting position in strong Indian batting line up.

             The poor performance by Aussies in every department of the game in first 2 tests has provided a glimpse of hope for Indian fans for a Series Whitewash (4-0). India have never whitewashed Australian team in the history of test cricket where 3 or more matches were played in the test series. With this win Dhoni became the most successful test skipper in the history of Indian cricket surpassing the record of 21 test wins by former Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly.

           Indian skipper M.S. Dhoni lead Indian team very well as this team have many new players so the job of the skipper was crucial to feel them confident against the might Australians. But Dhoni played his role very beautifully and that is why Indian players excelled in every department of the game. On the contrary Australian skipper is struggling very badly as he leading a team in making after the retirement of many star test players.

India In Strong Postion Against Australia in 2nd Test Match

              After loosing the first test match of Border Gavaskar trophy team Australia is struggling very badly in the second test match also. The 2nd test of ongoing test series between India and Australia has turned  strongly completely in the favor of Indian team. They have got the formidable lead of 266 runs in first innings thanks to beautifully crafted inning of the 204 runs from Cheteshwar Pujara and impressive 167 runs by Murali Vijay. Marali Vijay capitalize the offered opportunity at maximum to cement his place in the strong Indian batting line up. The absence of opener Gautam Gambhir proved a Boon for the struggling Tamil Nadu batsman player. A quickfire 44 runs by in form Indian skipper MS Dhoni proved crucial to get the lead of  266 runs in their first inning. 

Pujara and  Vijay during their record breaking partnership of 370.

           In 2nd session of the day Australians bounced back and finished Indian lower order in quick time. The poor fielding and undisciplined bowling helped India to pile up the score of 503 before getting all out just before tea. Debutant all rounder G.Maxwell picked up 4 wickets and Xavier Doherty also got 3 wickets for his consistent effort without having too much armor in his kitty which is required to bowl on the pitches like sub-continent. Glen Maxwell who struggled with bat did very good job with the ball.

           Trailing by 266 runs, Australian openers David Warner and Ed Cowan started their inning cautiously and put on a partnership of 56 before Warner got out of in-form off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. In no time Ashwin dismissed left handed Australian batsman Phillip Hughes for naught. At the end of the day Australian were reeling at 72  runs loosing two crucial wickets and they still far away from the Indian lead. 

            Indian team have very good chance in the match to finish it within four days. While the pitch is going to favor more to spinners and India have two inform spinners in their team Australia heve to play exceptional cricket in order to extend the match for the fifth day.

         So Million dollar question is, Can Australian team extend the match to 5th day ???