Cricket has changed.
No, this is not another pseudo-purist rant about how the Indian Premier League is detrimental to the red-ball game, why it is perfectly justified for you to send the resignation mail just to watch the Ranji Trophy semi-finals, and how the game and the glam never makes a good mix.
Instead, we will talk about the Border Gavaskar Trophy here, the latest iteration of which will commence on 9 February.
With it ranking second on the list of fiercest rivalries in Test cricket, after only the iconic Ashes, any iteration of the Border Gavaskar Trophy usually brings in hype, collywobbles, and, perhaps as a piquant deviation from the dull narrative built around the ‘gentleman’s game,’ a savage exchange of words.
But only a day before the action unfolds, there is an uncanny tranquility.
Yes, an Australian website uploading highlights of India getting bowled out for 36 did irk the Indian fans, including former cricketer Aakash Chopra. The former Indian coach, Ravi Shastri has been trying to do his bit by consistently campaigning for a pitch that will make the millennials nostalgic about their Beyblade toys.
Media from the visitors’ side have not particularly been quiet either. One Australian broadcaster suggested that the pitch being prepared in Nagpur is a ‘bizarre ploy’ by India. If only curator at the VCA Stadium knew that is being viewed in the same light as Breaking Bad’s Walter White down under!
‘Serene’ Australia Are Anything but ‘Soft'
But amid the hullabaloo on the periphery, the epicenter remains calm and serene. Perhaps because the two coaches, Rahul Dravid and Andrew McDonald have never been famous for their verbal antics. Perhaps because the new generation lacks the unabashed audacity that Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds had in abundance.
Or perhaps, the Australian skipper, Pat Cummins is known for being ‘laid back.’ As he arrived for the press conference ahead of the match, the reporters were on their toes, hoping to somehow eke out a catchy phrase, a headline.
But, lo!
All Cummins said was that unlike what is being reported, he simply does not believe ‘home advantage is a terrible thing,’ and that his players will consider it as ‘just another challenge to deal with.’
Despite the evident lack of brazenness from the yesteryears, it will be a mistake to consider this Australian team ‘soft’ – they are anything but that. Instead of complaining about the spin-friendly tracks, they are focusing their energy on devising a plan for it.
Smith, Warner’s Unique Preparation
Upon a closer inspection of the Australian training sessions, one would see that Steve Smith is spending hours against Maheesh Pithiya – the Ravichandran Ashwin bowling clone Australia have managed to unearth ahead of the series.
He has been beaten a few times, and that too, by a rank amateur, but Smith is way too experienced to let a bloated ego hinder his preparation – after every dismissal, he only returns stronger, more determined than ever before.
Knowing fully well how Rohit Sharma is likely to unleash Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel against him, David Warner has come up with a risky, yet daring solution. Against the left-arm spinners, he is batting with a right-handed stance in the nets.
Australia, for the eternal intimidation that surrounds the word, know that they are closer to being the underdogs here, than the favourites. They lost the last edition of this series at home, and here in Nagpur, will miss three incredibly crucial players – Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.
The onus is now on Cummins and McDonald to come up with a contingency plan, and on the players to follow it to the T.
The Trump Cards
There is no dearth of Aussie names India will be wary of – we have already mentioned Smith, Warner and Cummins, while the new kid on the block to have set the stage on fire, is Marnus Labuschange.
Beyond the spotlight, operating from a place where fame does not reach consistently, lies Usman Khawaja, doing his job unceasingly. Among those who have played a minimum of three Test matches away from home in the last two years, Khawaja has the highest away average – a staggering 118.50.
That, associating his visa issues with yet another ‘bizarre ploy’ by the Indian camp will certainly be bizarre, but the Indian bowlers should have plans ready of not letting Khawaja settle in.
If they can play to their strengths, the quartet of Khawaja, Smith, Warner and Labuschagne can trouble Sharma’s bowlers. As for his batters, Cummins will predominantly be reliant on the tireless worker, Nathan Lyon, to deliver the goods.
On tracks in Pakistan that were compared with expressways, Lyon managed to come out unscathed – with wickets to show for. He played five Test matches in the subcontinent last year and picked up 23 wickets, including fifers in Lahore and Galle
While it remains a long shot, Australia could field another off-spinner in Todd Murphy. The spectacles might make him seem like Lyon’s contemporary who just bloomed late, but do not be fooled by it, for he was born in this century.
He has only played seven first-class matches for Victoria, but 29 wickets with three four-wicket hauls proved to be too tempting for the selectors to ignore. Take another inspection into the Australian training sessions, and you will find Murphy spinning webs of deceit against some of the most experienced batters in the team.
Speaking on him, Cummins proudly said “He's been bowling beautifully in the nets over here. He's started really well for Victoria in first-class cricket. if he got the nod, he's got Nathan Lyon down the other end that he can work with.”
Lastly, let’s shift our focus to that particular department which, whilst at home, is Australia’s most lethal asset. Yet, here in Nagpur, it could be their Achilles’ heel – pace bowling.
With both Hazlewood and Starc out, and Cummins’ recent form not being extraordinary, the Kangaroos will be pinning their hopes on Scott Boland – the bowler who never let his hopes fade away. At the age of 32, whilst some of his contemporaries planned about life beyond cricket, Boland made his Test debut.
Try telling a thing or two about the pressure of the Border Gavaskar Trophy to Boland, and he might sport a careless laugh, for his debut came at the Ashes. He picked up 7 wickets on his debut, including an awe-inspiring spell of 6/7, and has since been a consistent performer for the baggy greens.
When Pat Cummins will lead a team of 11 onto the field at the VCA Stadium tomorrow, odds will be stacked against Australia. Chances of them losing the match are high, but that of them not providing a fight is nil.
For Australia will not go down without a fight. They never have.
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