5 factors that are necessary for Team India to emulate their home success in overseas conditions

The Indian Test team, under the leadership of captain, Virat Kohli have enjoyed remarkable success in the past three years, remaining unbeaten in ten consecutive series. The stupendous run was achieved in familiar conditions at home and against weak opponents like Sri Lanka (twice), West Indies and Bangladesh away.

When the challenging overseas tours began with a visit to South Africa, there were a lot of expectations from the team. Experts and fans alike, had the confidence that this Indian team had the best chance to win the series in South Africa. But Team India faltered yet again abroad. While the usual weak link, the bowling, did a good job, it was the the batting which flopped. Thus, the series was lost with a Test match still to be played. There were many factors which contributed to the defeat, like strange selection calls, poor shots, dropped catches and a great performance from South Africa in crucial moments.

However, India put on a splendid show on a tough pitch at the Wanderers to secure a consolation win, thereby showing that they are no longer a team that would be defeated without a fight overseas.

Here are the five factors that are necessary for the Indian team to emulate the home success on the away tours.

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#1 Have a settled opening pair

Murali Vijay played well in the previous away tours

Since the very successful opening duo of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir were separated after the series loss to England at home in 2012, Team India has struggled to find a stable opening pair for a considerable period of time. There have been way too many injuries to the openers and the opening combination has kept changing in almost every alternate series. The team management is also not consistent with the selection of the openers and has contradicting views while explaining the selections.

While the openers have been scoring runs individually in the recent times, the numbers as a pair are quite ordinary. The average for the opening partnership during the home run since the New Zealand series is just 34.89. This number is just higher than the average for the partnerships for sixth, tenth and ninth wicket respectively. In the away conditions, (South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia) since the previous tour of South Africa, the average for the opening partnership further decreases to 22.31 in 32 innings.

Good performances in seaming conditions depend largely on the starts provided by the openers. As such, the team management must identify the best opening pair across all conditions and give them a few matches together before judging their performances. This would be helpful for the openers, as they would be able to play without worrying about their individual performances.

#2 Not losing wickets in clusters

India have been losing wickets in clusters away from home

In conditions that are helpful for the pacers, it becomes an arduous task to string together partnerships consistently. The wickets can come at any time and the batsmen need to be technically very good in order to score the big runs. The batsmen have to be patient, even when the run-scoring gets tough and look for the opportunities to rotate the strike.

The Indian Test team has been facing a problem of losing their wickets in clusters in the overseas series. There have been numerous instances of the Indian team collapsing, sometimes even after a very good partnership that has taked the team to a position of strength. To cite a few examples, during the chase against Australia at Adelaide, India lost the last eight wickets for just 73 runs, thereby losing the Test which was in their grasp.

In the same series at Melbourne, after the aggressive partnership between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, the stage was all set for India to take the lead. But, another collapse meant that the last seven wickets could muster up just 56 runs and India had to fight it out in the second innings to save the Test. The Tests at Auckland and Galle were also lost due to the wickets that fell in heaps, as the batsmen could not build useful partnerships.

Losing the wickets in clusters does not allow the team to come back into the game and the momentum change can be defining, for not just that match, but, also the series. The Indian team must be wary of this and ensure that the soft dismissals and run-outs are kept in check.

#3 Contributions from the lower order

The lower order should continue with their contributions with the bat

During the home series in the previous couple of years, the lower order has contributed immensely with the bat. There were many rescue acts as well as the quick-fire cameos that have helped in setting up the stage for a declaration. The contributions of the tail assume great importance in the away tours, where the Indian teams of the past have been blown away by the opposition's pace attack.

The lower order average for India since the previous tour of South Africa in the overseas conditions (South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia) is just 22.69, which is low as compared to the average at home which is 30.61. However, in the current series, the lower order has batted splendidly, with the eighth-wicket partnership fetching the maximum number of runs in three of the six innings and averaging 42.83. The presence of all-rounders has been a big factor in the improved contributions from the tail. The lower order should continue with its performances and help the team reach a good total.

#4 Contributions from the spinners

Both Ashwin and Jadeja should improve their overseas records

The spinners played a huge role in the victories achieved by Team India in the unbeaten streak over the past three years. The duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja occupied the top spot in the ICC Test Rankings for the bowlers during this period.

With the team embarking on a number of series away from home, the role of the spinners as the prime wicket-takers will change as the pacers would be the major contributors on these tours. The spinners need to ensure that the run-scoring is kept under control and also to provide the team with vital breakthroughs when a partnership is building. The spinners will not enjoy each other’s support on most of the occasions, unlike the home games where they have bowled well in tandem. The record of both Ashwin and Jadeja overseas is pretty ordinary when compared to their home record.

Their predecessors, Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble played a huge role in India’s performances away from home. Harbhajan picked up six wickets in India’s win at Durban in 2010 while also returning with a seven-wicket haul in the drawn Test at Cape Town in the same series. He also scalped six wickets in India’s win at Hamilton in the 2009 tour of New Zealand. Similarly, when India drew the series in Australia in 2003-04, Kumble was the leading wicket taker from either side with 24 wickets in just three matches.

While Ashwin has bowled decently in the two Tests he played in the current series, he was unable to pick wickets in the second innings at Centurion on a pitch which was termed as an ‘Indian pitch’. The role of the spinners, even in the seaming conditions is very vital, as shown by the contributions from Nathan Lyon and Moeen Ali and the Indian spinners would want to improve their overseas records.

#5: Not being able to grasp the opportunities that come their way

India have let the opposition run away with the game after being in a commanding position on numerous occasions away from home

Another problem plaguing the Indian team in their overseas assignments is that they often lose control when they are on top in the game and allow the opposition to dominate the proceedings. This has hampered the momentum on various occasions, thus making it difficult to stage a comeback in the game again. Here are the few instances when India let the game drift away.

(1) Against South Africa, Johannesburg, 2013

After setting South Africa a huge target of 458, India had reduced them to 197/4 with more than 75 overs still left to play. But, AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis combined together to build a partnership of 205 runs in 62.3 overs. The target was brought down to just 56 runs in 13 overs with six wickets in hand. India managed to hold on to a draw with three quick wickets, with South Africa just eight runs away from the victory target.

(2) Against New Zealand, Auckland, 2014

Chasing a huge score of 407, India reached 222/2 as Shikhar Dhawan scored a hundred while Virat Kohli scored a fifty. But, wickets fell in quick succession and India were all out for 366, thereby losing the Test by 40 runs.

(3) Against New Zealand, Wellington, 2014

India got a huge lead of 246 runs in the first innings with Ajinkya Rahane getting his maiden Test ton and Shikhar Dhawan scoring 98. New Zealand were reduced to 94/5 in the second innings. India let the match slip away with poor fielding as Brendon McCullum was dropped on 9 and then again on 36 by Kohli and Ishant Sharma, respectively. He went on to score 302 runs, combining well with BJ Watling and James Neesham in the partnerships of 352 and 179 respectively, taking New Zealand to 680/8 d. Set 435 for victory, India held on to a draw with Kohli getting a century.

(4) Against Australia, Adelaide, 2014

Chasing 364 for victory, India were in a great position at 242/2. Murali Vijay and Kohli scored 99 and 141, respectively. But, Nathan Lyon picked up a seven-wicket haul as India lost eight wickets for just 73 runs in the final session, losing the match by 48 runs. The match should at least have been saved, if not won.

(5) Against Sri Lanka, Galle, 2015

India got a big lead of 192, with Dhawan and Kohli scoring centuries. Sri Lanka were reduced to 95/5 in the second innings. Dinesh Chandimal played a counter-attacking knock of 162 to set India a target of 176 runs. Rangana Herath then bowled a great spell, picking a seven-wicket haul. as India could score just 112 runs in the second innings to lose the Test by 63 runs.