IND vs AUS: Let’s be real, India actually exceeded expectations against Australia

Indian cricket has always had two different faces. When they are winning, there is superlative after superlative. The coach and the captain are, take your pick, “rewiring a generation/taking the team to the next level/proving why they are the greatest ever Indian squad to have ever played”. The batters are the best in the world, no one can play India’s bowlers, etc. etc.

And when they lose, then everything is lost. Player A needs to retire. Player B needs to be dropped. How can Player C even think about captaining? Someone sack the coach. There’s a leak from the dressing room. There are factions in the squad. It’s like the Bigg Boss house. So, perhaps, some perspective?

Heart-breaking loss, but…

Let’s be honest: India’s six-wicket loss to Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday was heart-breaking. That Jasprit Bumrah’s (or Rohit Sharma’s? Virat Kohli’s?) men lost the series 1-3 is sad but what will sting more is the fact that India have relinquished the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 long years. It was a matter of much pride for Indian cricket that they had held onto it for so long – deservingly so after two fantastic tours Down Under in 2018-19 and 2021-22.

The old adage of cricket: “Batters win you matches, bowlers win you series” came true, but with a twist. At times, Bumrah seemed out to prove that he alone could win India the series. He was supernaturally, preternaturally good – so good in fact that India’s bowling looked quite pedestrian at the end in Sydney even though they prised out 5 wickets.

Yet, in the days to come, it will remain one of the biggest what-ifs of Indian cricket – would there have been a different result if Bumrah had bowled on the last day?

Bumrah vs Australia

But no matter how good he was, cricket remains a team game. And the team failed Bumrah here. Except for the second innings in Perth, the batters never came good, exemplified by Sharma and Kohli’s horror run through the series. The team selection bordered on farcical at times, the captaincy left much room for improvement, and the fielding was a letdown. A 1-3 loss is a fair result ultimately in a series where India spent much of the time playing catch-up.

But before the hand-wringing and the court-martials start, let’s take a deep breath. India came into the series after being wiped out 0-3 at home by New Zealand , a result as shocking and stunning as they come. This was preceded by small cracks in the artifice – losing the World Test Championship final twice, not being able to win away against South Africa, and letting Australia and England win a Test match in India in their respective series.

Conviction, character, and resolve

The crux of the matter is that, whether we like it or not, Indian cricket has entered a transition phase. Barring a late-career revival, Kohli and Sharma are declining forces, raging against the dying of the light. Ravichandran Ashwin has already hung up his boots – Ravindra Jadeja may well join him soon.

There is some great talent waiting in the wings but talent by itself does not guarantee success. The likes of Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy et al. will take their time to deliver. It is but a fact of life.
And in that light, India exceeded expectations in Australia. That whitewash to New Zealand, that too at home, would have deflated most teams.

A tour to Australia is among the toughest assignments in cricket and has broken some of the strongest cricketers out there. It would have been easy for India to just roll over and accept what was coming to them.

Appetite for a scrap

But they fought. They may have only succeeded in Perth but they kept themselves in the contest. Yes, Australia won, but they were tested at all times. Amidst dressing room intrigue, captaincy speculation, and sudden retirements, India didn’t give up. The likes of Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Rishabh Pant kept on fighting till the very end, even in the last innings against Australia where Bumrah couldn’t bowl.

And that should give us hope. Ask old-timers and they will tell you that in similar circumstances, Indian teams of the past just threw in the towel. Remember the whitewashes in 2011-12 and the 3-0 loss in 1999-00? Sometimes, tough defeats teach us more than comprehensive victories. And perhaps the most heartening takeaway from this series is that win or lose, this Indian cricket will not back down from a scrap.