The Border Gavaskar trophy was an insightful series in terms of how performance can silence talk on the field. After the barrage that came India’s way in Sydney even as they staged an extraordinary comeback in the form of an absorbing game to draw the match, the shoe was on the other foot by the time the teams were done in Brisbane. Australia have had to eat their own words, in addition to humble pie.
Underestimating their opponents is one of the know pitfalls of teams. In Australia’s case, they not only underestimated the Indian cricket team in the absence of Virat Kohli but failed to learn from the early lessons India imparted about their determination to come back from having their backs to the wall. If the Melbourne experience taught them nothing, Australia went one step further and actually opened their mouths, their skipper leading the way.
There was a point in the game when one of the teammates told another who was sledging the Indians to beware or it might come back to bite them. If only the advice was heeded. If the slander from the Australians, particularly Tim Paine, was not abrasive enough, the criticism in the aftermath of India pulling off an incredible draw after an absorbing fourth session only showed the ignorance was evident when it comes to enjoying the nuances of the Test format.
If it was bad enough for India to be accused of not having friends – an insult accorded to Ravichandran Ashwin by Paine, Cricket Australia could have done more to restrain the Australian cricketers from making a spectacle of themselves, given that India’s bonhomie was playing a big role in filling their coffers. And if India had made themselves sticky business at the crease, the blame should have perhaps been reserved for the team and the captain better served to rethink his strategy on the field.
Australia were not the only frustrated lot given that prominent people back in India also joined the chorus of Australian cricketers to suggest that India lacked the intent to win and therefore, played slower, playing defensively for a draw instead of pushing for a win. If that seemed unfair, the silence in light of India’s stunning series victory in Brisbane is deafening.
Even as India return home to work out the details of facing their next opponents at home in England, there might be a cause for the world to stop spinning for a minute and actually pause to appreciate how team India taught how Test cricket can be played in the modern era in old school fashion.
India were not playing for a draw but rather had fewer options than that result in chasing the target in Sydney. With so much time to play for, throwing the kitchen sink at the target would have been a surefire way to lose the series. Instead, India played the long game and they essentially played the same game plan in Brisbane but knowing they had fewer overs to play. That Australia played defensively on the field allowed India to capitalize in the middle session, leaving them with an enticing Twenty20 finish in the prospect at the end which India pulled off.
It was not lacking intent that Cheteshwar Pujara was playing the game of ‘the wall’ in Brisbane or why Hanuma Vihari decided to drop anchor in Sydney. If anything it was explicit intent on India’s part: they would not cede advantage at any cost, come hell or high water, and if there is a win for the taking as it was eventually in Brisbane, they would go for it. The strategy paid off handsomely for India, and managed to silence a few reckless tongues that know little about the current crop of Indian cricketers, let alone the fascination for Test cricket’s many facets.