It was very much like old times. Setting the alarm for 4:30am to get up and watch cricket in Australia. Yes, now it’s work, shows and more, but the passion remains the same. While for most Bengalis, it is a hot cup of Darjeeling tea, ‘monkey cap’ and the morning papers in a decently chilly Kolkata winter, for me, it is Test cricket and what India does at the Gabba. Bowl first was the call from India, and though Australia negotiated the ten-plus overs bowled without undue alarms, they haven’t managed to race away either.
India’s bowlers would surely want to course correct on day 2, be a lot closer to the stumps and make the batters play more. Seek that elusive outside edge and make the most of the moisture. Despite the best drainage facilities on offer, there has to be moisture, which is what the bowlers will want to exploit. The batters, on the other hand, will want to battle through the first two hours, for they will know that thereafter, runs are surely on offer. That’s the essence of Test cricket – a battle of attrition with neither side wanting to give an inch. And yes, I will wake up again, same time Sunday, and make my Darjeeling tea to watch the battle resume under cloudy skies.
For India, I’d like Rohit to start with Akash Deep. He looked good in the little time he bowled and, more importantly, his style suits the new ball. He will land it on the seam and try and extract movement. He did beat the edge multiple times on day 1 and could indeed be the surprise package for India on day 2.
There were a lot of questions on social media asking about Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness. The reason being that he was clocking in the mid-130s and not the early 140s that he usually does. From my understanding, Bumrah was trying to bowl full and get maximum movement. In doing so, he may have cut down a few yards of pace. But then, he knows his body the best and, if need be, can ramp it up the moment he deems it necessary. I did not find anything wrong with Bumrah and feel reasonably confident that he will do the job on Day 2.
That’s what brings me to Mohammed Siraj. Yet again, he was booed by the hostile Gabba crowd and that should be enough to get him going. Siraj carrying the Indian flag around the Gabba and the entire team marching behind him in January 2021 is one of the most enduring picture postcards in the history of Indian cricket. In that one instant, he had ceased to be a Muslim or a Hindu. His religion did not matter. He had been appropriated as the vision of Indianness that we all believe in.
Siraj is now back at the Gabba. And one can say with certainty that the abuse and barracking will not matter to him. Siraj is the new India that has learnt to speak up. Give it back, as they say. It is no longer about soft peddling. Or just taking it. Siraj will not hold back.
The Travis Head incident is proof of where he stands. He did not flinch in calling Head a liar and held his ground. At no point was he overawed. He knows it will be hostile, but that’s what brings the best out of him. The competitiveness and the pushback. In every sense, it is a new India. A confident group, which knows that they have found a voice in the world. That’s what the real Siraj legacy is about.
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