The batting group got quite a lot of stick for their disappointing showing at
the Adelaide Oval. The batsmen’s inability to put up any kind of resistance and survive only 81 overs in the entire Test was the main reason behind the 10-wicket loss that helped Australia restore parity in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
In other words, barring that second innings in the series opener in Perth and that too, when conditions had eased out, Team India have cut a sorry figure with the bat in the rest of their three innings.
Having said so, does the problem lie only with the batting group? The Adelaide Test didn’t reflect so, though.
Jasprit Bumrah, as expected, posed a fair amount of problems with the new ball to Australia’s top order and had brought India back into the contest early on Day II, accounting for Nathan McSweeney and Steve Smith. But before he had returned for his second spell, Australia had already regained control and were on course for a sizeable lead.
“Bumrah can’t bowl from both ends,” captain Rohit Sharma had rightly said after the previous game. But the Adelaide clash had underpinned Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana’s failure to provide their senior pace colleague with adequate support on a surface that was easier to bat on.
Siraj did make some amends with a few quick wickets to polish off the Australian tail after finally inducing a false stroke from centurion Travis Head. Harshit’s situation was worse: 16 wicketless overs at an economy rate close to five-and-a-half runs per over.
Given Siraj’s experience, those late wickets may still do a bit in helping him regain his rhythm and sharpness going into the third Test in Brisbane beginning on Saturday. But what about the third pacer’s slot? Should India continue with Harshit or bring in the tried and tested Akash Deep, who has looked sharp at the nets in Australia?
There’s Prasidh Krishna, too. The Karnataka quick’s ability to hit the deck and extract awkward bounce merited his selection for the tour and given the nature of the Brisbane pitch which is usually pace-friendly, including Prasidh as the third pacer is certainly one option India can consider.
But will it be fair to drop Harshit based on just one poor performance? He hadn’t bowled badly at all in Perth, after all. Skipper Rohit, too, had thrown his support behind Harshit, saying: “The player might think, ‘You give me one match but leave me out in the next.’ This is not good for any player or any team, that’s what I think.”
Rohit is obviously right in his views. But former national selector Salil Ankola puts forward a different perspective.
“Well, you need to decide which is more important: fairness or winning a Test match. Besides, was it fair to drop Akash Deep from the XI in the first place (in Perth)? asked Ankola.
“Akash could have come in handy in Adelaide. He hits the right spot and the length he bowls could have been ideal on that pitch there. Even on pitches in India that have been on the flatter side, he has clocked well in excess of 140kmph and taken wickets,” Ankola, also a former pacer who represented India in a Test and 20 ODIs, pointed out.
Following his impressive debut in Ranchi against England in February, Akash had done admirably well with the new ball particularly, in the recent home Tests against Bangladesh and New Zealand. In terms of red-ball experience (five Tests and 36 first-class games) and his overall performance in multi-day affairs (10 Test and 123 first-class wickets) so far, the Bengal quick is better placed than Harshit.
“Harshit is a good player, no doubt about it. But you need Akash Deep in those conditions as he’s fast and fiery. He shouldn’t have been dropped in the first place... Too much of chopping and changing isn’t correct,” former India opener Arun Lal said.
Harshit’s ability as a lower-order batter is another factor that earned him a spot in the side. But when Nitish Kumar Reddy is already in the lower middle order as a seamer all-rounder, would it not be wiser to include another out-and-out specialist quick alongside Bumrah and Siraj?
“In Test cricket, you require specialist batters and specialist bowlers... Horses for courses... You need to react to the situation and conditions instead of being data-driven all the time.
“This aspect of including two seamer all-rounders (Nitish and Harshit) in the XI appears like giving some cushion to the batting line-up. Getting the combination right is very important,” Ankola analysed.
