Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Australia's winning margin doesn't tell the full story, but India have only themselves to blame

India didn’t come to Australia as complete no-hopers, but especially after their unparalleled 0-3 loss to New Zealand at home, it was obvious which team began the first five-Test series between the two teams in 33 years Down Under as favourites. True, Australia hadn’t played a Test since early March and could therefore be understandably rusty though everyone except skipper Pat Cummins had represented their respective states in Sheffield Shield action. But India’s morale was at an all-time low, their confidence having taken a severe beating after being comprehensively tamed in their own backyard by the Kiwis.

Aside of the fact that giant question marks loomed over the availability at any stage of the series of senior paceman Mohammed Shami, who eventually missed the entire showdown, India would be without regular skipper Rohit Sharma for the opening exchange in Perth.

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Jaiswal-Rahul’s formidable opening stand in Perth

Yashasvi Jaiswal had opened in all his 14 Tests till then with his fellow Mumbaikar. Now, in his first Test in Australia, he would have a new opening partner. How would that dynamic work out?

Jaiswal and KL Rahul were a dream in the second innings in Perth, becoming the first Indian opening pair to post a stand of more than 200 in Australia. Debutants Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana acquitted themselves superbly, stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah snaffled eight wickets, former skipper Virat Kohli struck an unbeaten century in the second innings. The result was a 295-run victory, a huge shot in the arm. Were we looking at what was unthinkable even a week back? Could there be a three-peat, a third straight series win in Australia?

The Perth debacle sparked talk of a rift in the Australian dressing-room, Josh Hazlewood’s throwaway line at the end of day three construed as a batters vs bowlers faceoff. Remarkably, by the time the teams travelled for the New Year’s Test in Sydney with Australia holding a 2-1 lead, it was alleged that the Indian camp was a house divided, that the communication channels between head coach Gautam Gambhir and several players were badly burned. The suspense around Rohit’s presence in the final Test, handled remarkably insensitively, added to the intrigue and the drama from which Indian cricket had isolated itself in the Rohit-Rahul Dravid leadership era.

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Australia’s 3-1 victory was well deserved, needless to say, but it was also a little flattering. They were better than India, but not humongously so. They seized the key moments, their mistakes went relatively unpunished, they had the rub of the green going their way. Of course, they had a far more experienced, settled and skilled attack for the conditions than the Indians, the lack of stability in the visiting ranks exemplified by the use of three different third seamers over the five Tests.

Team India’s tactical blunders Down Under 

India’s team selections left a fair bit to be desired. On surfaces where there was little joy for spinners – apart from in Melbourne – they banked on all-rounders to do the job, compromising on bowling penetration to bolster their batting. Ironically enough, it was the batting that let them down badly.

Six times in nine completed innings, including in three first innings, India were bowled out for less than 200. That they were still in with a shout in both Melbourne and Sydney despite decidedly sub-par batting displays speaks to their resilience and spirit, as also to the cracks in the Australian outfit that South Africa will look to exploit at the World Test Championship final in Lord’s from June 11.

Following their home implosion against New Zealand, India’s hopes of making it to the WTC final for a third time running hung by a slender thread. The Perth win temporarily reignited belief, but by Sydney, India’s campaign was practically over. Gambhir pointed to the lack of first-innings runs as the primary cause for concern, citing an issue with ‘temperament’ for batters not kicking on from 20s and 30s to bigger scores.

India had only three centuries, of which just one, Nitish’s 114 in Melbourne, came in the first dig. By contrast, each of Australia’s four hundreds – two apiece from Travis Head and Steve Smith – came batting first, two of them translating to victories in Adelaide and Melbourne respectively.

Virat Kohli’s series to forget, Rohit Sharma’s disastrous run

Despite his century in Perth, Kohli had a series to forget, only Rohit having a more disastrous run. The captain made 31 runs from five innings at 6.2, firing neither at No. 6 where he briefly returned after a six-year hiatus, nor at No. 2 at the MCG. Kohli made 90 runs in eight innings outside of his 100 not out, all eight dismissals bearing a striking similarity – to catches behind the stumps flirting with balls on the sixth- or seventh-stump line.

Kohli’s inability – or was it unwillingness? – to let balls go by, a reasonably straightforward proposition in Australia because of the bounce if one is so inclined from a discipline perspective, did little to enhance his reputation as one of the top batters of his generation. The aura around him has faded significantly and he lost numerous thousand fans after his hot-headed shoulder-butt of debutant Sam Konstas at the MCG.

KL Rahul tapered off after a terrific start while Nitish embarked on a downward spiral in the last three innings after his hundred. Of the top order, Rishabh Pant failed to translate starts into more meaningful contributions, leaving Jaiswal as the lone bright spot. The young left-hander was India’s highest scorer with 391 excellent runs, and with a tour of England looming in June when India will again play five Tests, that’s the kind of returns that will encourage Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.

India played eenie meenie miney mo with their three spinners in the first three Tests – the shock mid-series retirement of R Ashwin has become a footnote, almost – and truth to tell, there wasn’t much joy for any of them. Washington Sundar showed guts late in the order but was batting too low down to make an impression except in Melbourne alongside Nitish, while Harshit disappointed with the pink ball.

Jasprit Bumrah leads the bowling attack as always 

Bumrah, the undisputed leader of the pack, did the usual Bumrah things and amassed 32 wickets before back spasms prevented him from leading India’s defence of 162 at the SCG. Australia were afraid of Bumrah, they really were, and with good reason. He would have been a batter’s nightmare in the fourth innings in Sydney. Alas.

Mohammed Siraj bowled with fire and passion and skill but without much luck, deserving far more than 20 wickets. Only Cummins (167 overs) shouldered a greater workload than Siraj (157.1) and his 11-over opening spell in Bumrah’s absence on Sunday was a great tribute to his fitness and stamina at the end of a long and often unrewarding tour.

Prasidh Krishna did his chances no harm on his belated inclusion while Akash Deep was terrific in Brisbane and Melbourne even if the returns don’t back that statement up, pointing to a reasonably well stocked pace attack that will be further fortified if Shami returns in time for the England sojourn.

It’s the batting, for long India’s stronger suit, that will spark sleepless nights for the decision-makers. What do they do with the two misfiring aces, Rohit and Kohli? How much faith do they continue to invest in Gill, who has made just 514 runs in 21 innings outside Asia since his debut in 2020 at an average of 25.7, of which 259 came in his first six innings, in Australia in 2020-21?

Since his wonderful 91 in the epic Brisbane victory of January 2021, his highest score in England, South Africa and Australia combined is 36 in 15 innings. Gill is only one but an important piece of a jigsaw puzzle that currently looks practically impossible to solve.