- Team India cricketers must be sharing widely acknowledged viewpoints about cricket being a game of glorious uncertainties. The rollercoaster ride of Team India in the last two series must be so glaring for the cricket-crazy fans. The unexpected and shocking whitewash at the hands of the less heralded New Zealand in the three-match Test series was a stunning experience. Come to think of it, Team India was considered an impregnable fort to breach in the familiar home conditions. Not many visiting teams have been successful in taming the home favourites convincingly, forget about whitewashing. That New Zealand achieved the feat is a testimony to the fact how much the Kiwis pull their weights whilst delivering and when least expected.
PC:Hindustan Times
- After the hammering received against New Zealand at home, Team India must have felt the five-match Test series Down Under would pose Himalayan challenges as what was at stake was the qualification into the World Test Championship (WTC) finals. All cricket pundits worth their salt were opining that it would be a very daunting task for the visitors to best Aussies in their own backyard and move ahead to qualify for the WTC finals. Now, we are aware of how Team India not only went ahead and stunned the Aussies in the first Test at Perth with such a huge margin but also how they went about lording over the opponents. Of course, the hype surrounding the first Test in Perth was humongous as everybody predicted an easy Australia win against Team India.
PC:Times of India
- However, how Team India subjugated the home team in one of the fastest cricket pitches in the world was truly spectacular. Stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah was in his element dishing out a memorable man-of-the-match performance in Team India’s win in Perth. The second Test in Adelaide was a pink-ball day/night game that was expected to elicit a keen contest with Team India itching to carry forward the momentum and Team Australia keen on winning to make it even stevens in the long series. As expectations rose dramatically leading up to the Test match, Team India’s abject surrendering and the pummeling it received from the marauding Aussies will make it extremely tough for the visiting team to regroup and mount an effective challenge.
PC:The New Indian
- The Indian batters were brutally exposed by some fine pace bowling from the quality Aussie attack. That none of the exalted Indian batters could score a fifty-plus score in both innings mirrors the struggles of the team. A new entrant Nitish Kumar Reddy top scored with an identical 42 runs in both innings speaks volumes about how Indian batters were found wanting in countering the Aussie pace battery. The Indian bowlers did their job but if the batters fail to set up a formidable total on the board, it’s always catching up for the team attempting to stay in the game. The batters must deliver substantially allowing the bowlers to mount counterattack. If Team India nurtures hope of winning the series, the established batters must score big runs. Period.
