5 areas where Australia outdid India in the first Test

So, Australia did the unthinkable and defeated India at their home. Experts and pundits in the course of time will offer their post-mortem analysis and will reveal how this miracle happened.

But if you think this victory had only to do with O'Keefe’s magic and Smith’s magnificent century, then look at these five little yet critical aspects where Smith’s men got better of India and created history in Pune.

---

#1 Length of deliveries

This was one of the rare occasions where opposition spinners outshone Indian spinners. Steve O'Keefe and Nathon Lyon picked 17 wickets while Indian spinners managed only 14 wickets between themselves. Interestingly, the average of 30.14 per wicket of Indian spinners is way more than average of 8.29 of Aussie spinners.

So, what was the difference between the two teams? The pitch turned from day 1 and Indian spinners with the aim of getting more turn held their lengths back. It forced the ball to turn more but also resulted in it missing the outside edge. Aussie batsmen, especially, Steven Smith was consistently beaten outside off stump but that didn’t matter as seldom there was an outside edge.

On, the contrary, Australian spinners bowled fuller and forced the batsmen to play. It enabled them to have better control on spin. This helped in getting more edges and ultimately resulted in the creation of more wicket taking opportunities.

#2 Close catching

Peter Handscomb showed smartness and was constantly alert for any opportunity

In second innings, Steven Smith was dropped thrice while Renshaw was put down once by the close fielders. Smith scored a hundred which was the only three figure score of this Test. On the other hand, Australian fielders closing on the Indian batsmen held on to 6 catches.

On a pitch where ball turned from everywhere, fielders had to stay sharp to catch anything that came their way. Indian fielders fell behind on this aspect while the Aussies were spot on. Especially Peter Handscomb showed smartness and was constantly alert for any opportunity.

Slip catching has been India’s headache since last few years. Kohli and co. now must strengthen their fielding as Australian batsmen usually don’t offer many chances.

#3 Use of DRS

Aussies showed a better sense of using the DRS during the Test

Kohli himself will admit that his DRS reviewing in this Test match was pathetic. A lot of this can be attributed to Wridhiman Saha, who being the wicket-keeper, offers decisive insights during reviews. Saha, throughout the Test match, was unable to read the game correctly and he even failed to notice the outside edge of Mitchell Marsh in the second innings.

On Jadeja’s bowling, the umpire turned down an LBW appeal against Smith when he was on 73. Had it been reviewed Smith, was walking back but India had already consumed both their reviews. Australia didn’t have to review a lot during their bowling but showed a better sense of using the DRS during the Test.

Stats: Most consecutive innings in international cricket without a duck

#4 Runs by lower order

Starc was key in the first and second innings as he smashed 61 and 30 runs respectively.

Last five batsmen of Australia scored a total of 210 runs, including both innings, while Indian lower order managed only 28 runs. This whopping difference was instrumental in the outcome of this match.

Starc was key in the first and second innings as he smashed 61 and 30 runs respectively. Indian tail enders in first innings were outdone in by O'Keefe and in the second innings by Lyon.

One of the major contributors in India’s dominance in home Tests has been the runs added by tail enders. Ashwin, Jadeja, and Jayant have bailed the team out in the past and they were helped by someone like Kohli and Saha from the top order.

However, in this Test match, no Indian top order batsman took the responsibility and the lower order simply followed the cue. Meanwhile, Smith will be mighty happy with the way his spinners ran through India’s lower order denying them any chance of a counter-attack.

#5 Patience

David Warner curbed his natural instincts

David Warner, in the 1st innings, lasted for 77 balls and smashed only 6 boundaries. His boundary percentage in that innings was one every 12.83 balls which is way more than his career boundary percentage of one every 9.72 balls.

This approach was reflected by other Australian batsmen as well. By curbing their natural game of aggression, Aussie batsmen allowed themselves more time at the crease and thus they scored more runs.

Indian batsmen, on the other hand, looked short of patience. In 1^st innings, Vijay, Rahul, and Kohli got out to balls which didn’t deserve a wicket.

The massive victory of 333 runs was certainly not a fluke as Australia came prepared for India’s challenge and had done their homework. Along with riding on some luck and doing the big things right, Smith and his men took care of smaller things which are mentioned above and proved that Kohli’s India is not invincible.

In the 2^nd Test, India will come back stronger and this makes this Border-Gavaskar trophy even more exciting!