Four issues the India need to address before the Australian tour

Raja
Sam Curran was the nemesis for the Indian Team in the Test Series
Sam Curran was the nemesis for the Indian Team in the Test Series

Two disappointing overseas Test series defeat in South Africa and England follow a similar trend that needs to be addressed if India wants to conquer the Australian soil. The lopsided 4-1 series defeat scoreline might not suggest the amount of competitive cricket the two teams played during the series.

But, it was a series every true cricket fan will remember. The series saw Virat Kohli conquering the English soil after the forgetful tour 2014 and it also turned out to be the last Test series of the English legend Alastair Cook who bid goodbye to international cricket with a century on a winning note in his last Test match.

Problems are plenty for the number 1 Test team who have now lost two consecutive Overseas Test series. They have now lost six out of the last completed eight Tests overseas. On the plea of the Indian team to understand the conditions better the shorter formats were played before the Tests but however, the results did not turn out to be desirable.

Team India's last Overseas consignment for the year might well be the hardest. The Australian soil has been a nightmare for the Indian team. Besides South Africa, Australia is the only Overseas destination where India has failed to win a Test series.

However, this Test series may be the realistic chance to end the drought in Australian soil. The Australian team who is without the services of two-star batsmen are still picking up the pieces after the ball-tampering debacle.

However, the Australian pace battery might still make the life of Indian batsman miserable in the upcoming tour.

Let's have a look at the issues that the Indian team must address before the all-important Australian tour.


Problem in removing the tail

This is arguably one of India's finest pace attack equipped with the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ishant Sharma. Indeed, they performed well in South Africa and England and ran through the opposition's top order in both the series.

However, they could not leave the same impact against the lower order batsmen and gave too many runs to the lower order. As in the South African tour, lower order players like Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada provided cushions to AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis so that they could score runs freely. In England tour too, resistance from England's lower order proved pivotal for the other batsman to score freely. As a result, the scoring went on to become large.

Team India have an utterly bad habit of throwing the towel after having an upper hand in the match.

The opening conundrum

Shikhar Dhawan failed to score even a fifty in 8 innings
Shikhar Dhawan failed to score even a fifty in 8 innings

Team India tried three pairs of openers in the England series albeit not too much success. Vijay was rested for the rest of the tour after failing in the first two Tests. Dhawan got starts but failed to convert it into a big score. He ended the series without scoring a fifty. Rahul showed a glimpse of what he could be in his best in the final Test when he scored 149, his only 50+ score in the series.

His association with Pant gave Indians a sight of an improbable victory. The failure of the Indian openers cost them a Test series and it must be resolved before the Australian tour.

Role of all-rounder

Hardik Pandya failed to impress at the England tour
Hardik Pandya failed to impress at the England tour

In an overseas tour, particularly to England, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, teams can't afford to keep more than five batsmen. So, the role of an all-rounder becomes very important. The 40-50 runs scored by him or 2-3 wickets taken by him leave an everlasting impact on the game.

India has always lacked a world class allrounder. Many were tried and tested but not too much success. Latest on the list is Hardik Pandya. He has been highly rated and is expected to provide flexibility in the team. He is time and again being compared to legendary Kapil Dev. He also has shown the capability to be so. Who can forget his Champions Trophy 2017 final heroics or 93 in the South African tour against the likes of Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada in challenging conditions?

However, he has not left much mark with the ball in the international arena and is inconsistent overall.

Failing middle order and over-reliance on Virat Kohli

Kohli was India's man of the series
Kohli was India's man of the series

Failing openers, failing middle order, lone fighting Kohli and India losing the series overseas. This has been the story of the Indian team while playing red ball cricket overseas.

Very rarely it happens that the top scorer in a bilateral series is from the losing side and that the second in the list is 244 runs behind. In overseas conditions, the Indian batting line-up revolves around Kohli and when he departs the Indian batsman fall like a pack of cards. The Indian batsman has failed to fire in unison and this has made chasing modest targets in the fourth innings improbable.

India failed to chase 208 in South Africa and 193 in England. Virat is expected to do the bulk of scoring which he has been doing but isn't getting support from another batsman.

Another batsman also needs to take responsibility and should step up if they are to emerge victorious in the Australian expedition.

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Edited by Vignesh Ananthasubramanian