India tour of Australia 17 Dec - 19 Jan: Tests

[Red Devil]

Interesting times certainly - Ind look strong, but so do Eng and NZ. Aus are still strong I think - Warner had an off series and so did Starc and Lyon but if Will P and Cameron Green can come through as well they won't be an easy side with that pace attack.

SA could be strong again maybe - the end of Kolpak could see a few returning to the SA test side? It would be a huge boost to their strength in depth as well.

I guess the home and away series over the next 8 months for Ind v Eng will give a good indication of where those sides are - a real shame that Ind will be without Jadeja for the start of the home tests - and Ind will need the seamers to be fit for the tests in Eng.

Ind are also set to tour NZ in Mar 2022 according to the NZ future programme but it looks like that is just ODIs - would be really good to see NZ playing some tests against Ind both home and away so hopefully that will happen

[Red Devil]

A combined XI from the series is a challenge given the amount of changes in the Ind side, but I think my XI would probably be ...

Shubman
Pujara - didn't open but feel like I should squeeze him in and the other openers didn't do much
Marnus
Smith
Pant (wk) - for his batting really since Paine wasn't great behind the stumps either
Rahane (c)
Jadeja
Ashwin
Shardul / Siraj - Siraj played more games but Shardul played a big role with both bat and ball at the Gabba
Cummins
Hazlewood

[bigfluffylemon]

my boys were all up early (they believed!) and cuddled into my bed watching - inspiring the next generation!

sounds like an incredible way to start the day. Those sorts of moments only come around occasionally..... something to cherish

That's awesome.

BFL junior was getting increasingly anxious. I got the concept of runs through to him a few weeks ago (he's only six, bless), and he was calling out 'Dad, India only need 65 to win! Oh no'.

I said to him that he's watching one of the all time great run chases unfold as Mrs BFL and I were glued to the conclusion, but he threw down the remote and stormed off. So even in defeat, I think this series has created a new cricket fan. He declared he was going to play cricket at his school holiday program today

[Red Devil]

my boys were all up early (they believed!) and cuddled into my bed watching - inspiring the next generation!

sounds like an incredible way to start the day. Those sorts of moments only come around occasionally..... something to cherish

That's awesome.

BFL junior was getting increasingly anxious. I got the concept of runs through to him a few weeks ago (he's only six, bless), and he was calling out 'Dad, India only need 65 to win! Oh no'.

I said to him that he's watching one of the all time great run chases unfold as Mrs BFL and I were glued to the conclusion, but he threw down the remote and stormed off. So even in defeat, I think this series has created a new cricket fan. He declared he was going to play cricket at his school holiday program today

Glad to hear it - they'll be the future of the game. My 10 year old went through the downs as well - we were at the women's world cup final when Ind lost to Eng; and the champions Trophy final where Ind lost to Pak; and also the FA Cup final in 2018 when Man U lost to Chelsea - he was very upset at all of them and he was only about 7 years old then ... but it's all part of being a fan! He was much happier today, as were my twins who are only 7 - they were confused about why the scoring rate was so slow when they see people scoring at 10 an over in T20s!

[bigfluffylemon]

I struggle to understand the whole test championship thing, but as I understand it, Australia now have to win in South Africa 2-0. If they lose a match there they can't qualify for the final because they were docked 4 points for a slow over rate in one of these matches.... might have been Melbourne... not sure.

Had India lost, they would have had to beat England 4-0, I think. They might very well do that anyway, but a bit of resistance, a brilliant piece of Stokesy, or some bad weather along the way and they might not. Now they can afford to lose a match against England (he said chuckling away) and still go through to play NZ

If England beat SL 2-0 they can still qualify if they beat India 3-0.....but ignore that... that's even less likely than Trump suddenly conceding defeat to Biden before the inauguration

The test championship scoring makes very little sense. Before the Sri Lanka game, England were P15 W8 L4 D3, while Australia are P14 W8 L4 D2. Yet despite almost identical records, Australia have 69% while England have 60%. Er, what?

Meanwhile, New Zealand have virtually guaranteed their place in the final despite having only played 11 games, 8 of which have been at home, while England will have played 20, Australia 18 and India 17. Although India and Australia were both ahead of New Zealand before the Gabba match started, the fact that they have more games to play means they need dominant wins in their final series to maintain their positions. Not saying New Zealand don't deserve to be up there, but how is it fair that they've had 75% of their qualifying matches at home?

I have maths to undergrad level and I struggle with this one.

The whole system needs an overhaul. Teams have to play the same number of series and the same number of qualifying games. What happened to the proposal to have every side play each other home and away over the course of four years, and the first three tests of each series count for the championship? The likes of England, India and Australia could play longer series if they want for the money and glory, but then at least you'd get a level playing field. No doubt it was nixed by India, Australia and England who want to play long series against each other and only play two test series (or not at all) against the likes of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Pathetic.

[bigfluffylemon]

my boys were all up early (they believed!) and cuddled into my bed watching - inspiring the next generation!

sounds like an incredible way to start the day. Those sorts of moments only come around occasionally..... something to cherish

That's awesome.

BFL junior was getting increasingly anxious. I got the concept of runs through to him a few weeks ago (he's only six, bless), and he was calling out 'Dad, India only need 65 to win! Oh no'.

I said to him that he's watching one of the all time great run chases unfold as Mrs BFL and I were glued to the conclusion, but he threw down the remote and stormed off. So even in defeat, I think this series has created a new cricket fan. He declared he was going to play cricket at his school holiday program today

Glad to hear it - they'll be the future of the game. My 10 year old went through the downs as well - we were at the women's world cup final when Ind lost to Eng; and the champions Trophy final where Ind lost to Pak; and also the FA Cup final in 2018 when Man U lost to Chelsea - he was very upset at all of them and he was only about 7 years old then ... but it's all part of being a fan! He was much happier today, as were my twins who are only 7 - they were confused about why the scoring rate was so slow when they see people scoring at 10 an over in T20s!

Lol. I'd been intending to take him to a BBL game this summer but the timings didn't quite work out (plus, you know, Covid). Next year for sure.

[Red Devil]

The whole system needs an overhaul. Teams have to play the same number of series and the same number of qualifying games. What happened to the proposal to have every side play each other home and away over the course of four years, and the first three tests of each series count for the championship? The likes of England, India and Australia could play longer series if they want for the money and glory, but then at least you'd get a level playing field. No doubt it was nixed by India, Australia and England who want to play long series against each other and only play two test series (or not at all) against the likes of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Pathetic.

Wholeheartedly agree - been saying that for years; it really shouldn't be too hard to organsise and we could have a simpler points system like 3 points for a win and 1 for a draw that everyone could understand

[bigfluffylemon]

Think Australia did themselves no favours by bowling Cummins into the ground , good though he is , and leaving him nothing left for the finish. My main criticism is the bizarre handling of supposed all rounder Green : three overs out of 97 ? Really ? What is the point of having a fifth bowler ? I fear Paine , though he did a good job in restoring morale after sandpaper gate , is tactically clueless...

Good call. They could have bowled Marnus a bit more. But I think they made a few other errors too. Too much short stuff, not enough that would have hit the stumps, especially later on. They got rattled when Pant and Sundar seized the initiative and lost their discipline. And bowling Lyon after just 4 overs of Hazlewood and Cummins with the new ball. Starc didn't get a look in with the new cherry, and the Indians were taking singles quite freely off Lyon.

Australia have a simple formula for winning at home. Play on pretty benign pitches. Ideally win the toss and bat. Bully the opposition with quick runs to heap the pressure on (Warner, but Hayden, Langer, hell even Watson did it in the past), before the big guns come in with the shine off the ball (Ponting, Clarke, Smith, etc.). Rack up a big first innings score, then use scoreboard pressure, plus the speed and bounce of your quicks to continue bullying the batsmen into making mistakes (plus also get them out making mistakes off the spinner when they try to score off him, since they're not scoring off the quicks). 9 series out of 10 it works. But when you get a team that can keep a lid on the Aussie scoring, get the openers out cheaply and stand up to the fast bowling pressure/short stuff, it doesn't. South Africa in 2012, now India here.

Interesting that India seem to have completely torn up the rulebook about how to win in Aus. Vaughan on TMS keeps tiresomely banging on about 'how to win in Australia' (despite the fact he never did).
Don't lose the first test
Win the toss and bat first
Score over 400 first dig
Don't take injured players
Have really fast bowlers who can be penetrative on docile pitches
Use scoreboard pressure to lure mistakes

India did none of that (lost all four tosses!) but still came out victorious. I still can't quite work out how. The main thing seems to have been discipline. Even the 7th, 8th, 9th pick bowlers kept the pressure on and hardly ever let the scoring rate get away. And the batsmen didn't give it away trying to dominate the bowlers, but absorbed the pressure and made Australia work to get them out.

[Durhamfootman]

In fairness to Vaughan (and I don't like being fair to him) I think he has already come out and said that he has egg all over his face

[Durhamfootman]

Glad to hear it - they'll be the future of the game. My 10 year old went through the downs as well - we were at the women's world cup final when Ind lost to Eng; and the champions Trophy final where Ind lost to Pak; and also the FA Cup final in 2018 when Man U lost to Chelsea - he was very upset at all of them and he was only about 7 years old then ... but it's all part of being a fan!

I knew a chap years ago who was Newcastle Utd daft... never missed a game home or away. For the 92/93 season he started to take his young son with him for the first time. First 11 matches of the season, in what is now the Championship, Newcastle won every game and his son was very happy... loved going to all the games. Then in the 12th match they got beaten for the first time.... 2-0 down (I think) with only a few minutes to go and his son is still jumping up and down with joy. Then the whistle blew and the game ended in defeat and the boy just broke down and cried. Even with time running out, he knew that Newcastle were going to score 3 late goals, because.... you go to the football, Newcastle win, you go home happy.... it was all he knew. That boy will be in his late thirties now.... I bet he doesn't think that anymore... probably the exact opposite.

[meninblue]

Brilliant result for India and a sign of new world dominance.

With that much depth to their team its could be a long reign at the top

A great victory but a great dominating team has much higher quality of players than we do in the batting. We have a world-class bowling attack though. Jasprit, Shami, Ashwin are the core of test bowling attack. Jaddu, Ishant are quality experienced bowlers who have improved. Siraj has been wonderful in List A. Saini needs to improve. But the overall bowling depth is just awesome.

Too early to compare with the Windies of 70's and Aussies great team. Under Virat I don't think this team is going to blossom in some aspects. He will be back soon. After this series win there is so much fan support to sack Virat for good as test captain and make Ajinkya the captain.

[sussexpob]

Too early to compare with the Windies of 70's and Aussies great team. Under Virat I don't think this team is going to blossom in some aspects. He will be back soon. After this series win there is so much fan support to sack Virat for good as test captain and make Ajinkya the captain.

The lack of respect that Indian's have towards their test team and Kohli at times is quite staggering. I think if we were to make an assessment of cricket in the era where teams actually start touring outside the Ashes games, is there a single side that gets anywhere near Kohli's dominance at home? Because the Windies in their glorious era between 75-90 only won 57% of home tests and failed to win series more than once. Waugh failed to win 2 home test series in just 5 years and his win percentage per test is also much lower than Kohli.

Kohli's win percentage at home is 83% percent. And his loss percentage is only 2 percent. They have won EVERY single series in 8 years. Statistically, Kohli's India are the toughest team ever to beat when at home. They are the toughest team to avoid defeat against too (Windies lost 5 times more percentage of matches at home). Its about time we start to acknowledge this with the respect it deserves, not relegate it to some underhanded insults like "India can only play at home" or what not.

The way we see achievements still seems culturally biased towards certain teams outside Asia. Was Steve Waugh's team that good on the road? If we attack Kohli for his teams performance in seam friendly conditions, lets even it up. How did Steve Waugh's side do in Asia?

They lost to SL away. Then they lost to India away. They narrowly avoided the follow on in BD at one point vs one of the most abjectly poor statistical teams to play the the game (won by 2 odd wickets if memory serves in the end). They never went to Pakistan, although they beat Pakistan in a series hastily rearranged after a terror attack that was played over three different countries, although Pakistan were without the whole of their regular side, so the context doesn't really feel that relevant. Add into that the failure to beat an abjectly poor West Indian side away from home, at team which would tour not long after and get annihilated 4-0 by the team at the time bottom of the test rankings while being bowled out for 60 twice, its not really breath-taking is it?

Calls to sack Kohli seem pretty deranged to me. Hes created a team that won twice in a row in Australia.... who the hell manages that.

[meninblue]

Too early to compare with the Windies of 70's and Aussies great team. Under Virat I don't think this team is going to blossom in some aspects. He will be back soon. After this series win there is so much fan support to sack Virat for good as test captain and make Ajinkya the captain.

The lack of respect that Indian's have towards their test team and Kohli at times is quite staggering. I think if we were to make an assessment of cricket in the era where teams actually start touring outside the Ashes games, is there a single side that gets anywhere near Kohli's dominance at home? Because the Windies in their glorious era between 75-90 only won 57% of home tests and failed to win series more than once. Waugh failed to win 2 home test series in just 5 years and his win percentage per test is also much lower than Kohli.

Kohli's win percentage at home is 83% percent. And his loss percentage is only 2 percent. They have won EVERY single series in 8 years. Statistically, Kohli's India are the toughest team ever to beat when at home. They are the toughest team to avoid defeat against too (Windies lost 5 times more percentage of matches at home). Its about time we start to acknowledge this with the respect it deserves, not relegate it to some underhanded insults like "India can only play at home" or what not.

The way we see achievements still seems culturally biased towards certain teams outside Asia. Was Steve Waugh's team that good on the road? If we attack Kohli for his teams performance in seam friendly conditions, lets even it up. How did Steve Waugh's side do in Asia?

They lost to SL away. Then they lost to India away. They narrowly avoided the follow on in BD at one point vs one of the most abjectly poor statistical teams to play the the game (won by 2 odd wickets if memory serves in the end). They never went to Pakistan, although they beat Pakistan in a series hastily rearranged after a terror attack that was played over three different countries, although Pakistan were without the whole of their regular side, so the context doesn't really feel that relevant. Add into that the failure to beat an abjectly poor West Indian side away from home, at team which would tour not long after and get annihilated 4-0 by the team at the time bottom of the test rankings while being bowled out for 60 twice, its not really breath-taking is it?

Calls to sack Kohli seem pretty deranged to me. Hes created a team that won twice in a row in Australia.... who the hell manages that.

We do not disrespect cricketers. In fact Indian fans are known to treat cricket players as God!!!.Offcourse some of them are also treated as evil ghosts. Thise who live by the sword die by the sword. Just saying.

Sussex, I think you are not just getting the hang of what Indian fans want.

Virat is India's best batsman for Indian fans and even arguably world's best batsman. There is 100 percent clarity in that.

The reason why majority of Indian fans do not want Virat is Virat the captain. There are loads of examples on his severe mis-management of players since he became captain. The drama in sacking Kumble and picking Shastri, the handling of juniors and youngsters, the impatience in selections, inability to develop and give confidence to players, his personal behavior in comparison to what our previous role models displayed etc . As an individual he is one of the most successful cricketer in history of game but as a leader we do not consider him to be one. There is no disrespect. Yet again I would like to remind Indian cricket fans are the ones who do hero worshipping. We applaud and rate Virat the batsman a lot.

[meninblue]

The dominant teams having dream run did not get out for 36 during their peak period. Did they. A great series win but too early to confidently say this is a dominating team.

[GarlicJam]

Every team has a terrible, an abject performance or three that can humiliate them, and/or spur them on. 36 all out was an absolute doozy, no question about that - but that is now just a statistic. The speed that India turned it around - against my expectations, and I sure as heck wasn't alone here - and the determination to thrive was an absolute credit to them.

Of course, Rahane deserves lots of credit for leading his team out of the depths to heady heights - but he did it with a team that, as Sussex notes, Kohli created. Kohli and Shastri created, to be fair. You have bagged the pair of them a lot, MiB, especially Shastri, I think they deserve credit.

This series, more so than any that I can remember, proves that a "team" is much more than the eleven who take the field, and carries on far further than the playing field. Shastri and Kohli must be given credit for building this base, and this culture, that made this series win possible.