#365DaysOfWriting — Day 324
The Best Series of the Home Season
It’s finally come to an end. India v Australia. What started off with an unexpected, thundering performance from a well-prepared Aussie side in Pune, ended with the world’s #1 test team coming back from a 0–1 deficit to win the series 2–1. While this may not be the gold standard of 2001, it comes pretty close.
I had written an entire post about the series on Facebook. Here it is:
*Points and laughs at Steve Smith and the Australian media*
You may want to check yourself before calling someone else a ‘f***ing cheat*, Mr. Steve Smith. As much as you’ve been an amazing batsman this series, your ‘brain fade’ with the DRS and general hypocrisy regarding ‘sledging’ has made me like you a little less. You’re a great batsman, easily part of the Top 4 in this generation, but you need to look at yourself in the mirror. Kohli may have mouthed off his fair share, but you can’t call him a ‘cheat’ now, can you? And about that ‘mouthing off’ — you get as good as you give. Congratulations though, Smith, on your Jana Bankable Player of the Series Award — you truly deserved it.
Hey Aussie media, go shove those mics/pens up… you know where.
This is the №1 test side in the world, Aussies.
Credit to you for making this one of the best home series I’ve seen in the recent past. But know that once you start shooting off your mouth, you generally tend to lose. Your bowlers have done themselves proud — especially O’ Keefe and Cummins — but your batsmen have been poor (barring the unconquerable Smith), apart from Renshaw — that kid has a really bright future. Nurture him well — he’ll be a great test-match asset in this T20 era. But to come to India on the back of a 4–0 loss in your last series here, and to put on such a performance — well played, Australia.
Detractors, you poked fun at India being a one-man team (Kohli out, India out). We just proved the opposite in the most emphatic way possible. The Aussie batting (here at least) was nothing without Steve Smith — imagine if HE didn’t play the final test, instead of the other way around. Australia wouldn’t have crossed 100 in the first innings also. This series win is all the more special because it was won without a batting contribution from Kohli.
India, you have tougher challenges ahead.
You’ve proved your dominance at home, now it’s time to go out there and show the same class, the same fire, the same application overseas. Kohli will come back to form, it’s just a matter of time. And we always have Pujara, Rahane, Rahul and Vijay for backup. And our lower order — gone are the days when our bottom four are easy wickets for the opposition. Saha, Ashwin and Jadeja form the bedrock of that lower order — and honestly, if he puts a little more to it, even Umesh Yadav can be a useful lower order bat.
Our fast bowling resources have never looked better.
Old warhorse Ishant, combined with the guile of Bhuvi, and the sheer pace of Umesh and Shami can be a handful on overseas pitches. Umesh Yadav has finally converted the potential he’s promised all these years — India finally have a snarling, scary fast bowler who can break ribs and noses. (Kudos to Bhuvi for that bouncer to Warner, though). Keep this up Umesh. Keep this up, fast bowling squad. You guys are the real MVPs. Somehow, if we can get Varun Aaron to be like how Umesh is now, we can be unstoppable overseas.
The spinners have been the driving force this home series.
Ashwin and Jadeja have been like Jay and Veeru. Even as Ashwin faded slightly towards the end of the home series (blisters on his fingers), Jadeja was relentless throughout. And he’s outbowled Ashwin in this series. We have great backup in Kuldeep Yadav and Jayant Yadav (wow, that’s a Yadavon Ki Baaraat right there — Umesh, Jayant and now Kuldeep). Jadeja, in my opinion, is India’s best bet on an unhelpful pitch. Congratulations, Jadeja, on your deserved Man-of-the-Match and Man-of-the-Series awards.
Wicket-keeping has never been in safer hands (pardon the pun).
Wriddhiman Saha is a safer ‘keeper than Dhoni, and while he might not have his swashbuckling style, he has scored runs when the team has REALLY needed them. I hope you’ve banished the ghosts of Adelaide 2014. We need you to be the same Saha overseas.
There are chinks in the armour though.
Kohli’s old failings outside the off-stump have resurfaced, and our openers aren’t clicking together as regularly as they used to. And the usual weakness of starting off a series slowly. But this might just be the best Indian test squad I’ve seen since the retirement of the big guys.
After a satisfying home season — onward to the IPL we go!
Archives
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