Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood. Names that featured quite infrequently in the Australian XI in the four Test matches played in India between February and March. They were never part of the same team. There were spinners, three of them, a rarity in an Australian Test XI.
Come The Oval and the World Test Championship final, the situation is going to be very, very different. All three — Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood — will be there, fresh and raring to go. That is going to be a troublesome proposition for the Indians, because most of them will be travelling jaded after a taxing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Cummins and Starc did not play in the IPL. Hazlewood played very few matches. They will be at the peak of their powers, at least that is what we expect. In India, on those spinning pitches, they were completely ineffective. In England in the early part of the English summer, they will be much more potent. In all likelihood, they will form a very formidable troika.
And therein lies the problem for the Indian batters. The Aussie quicks were not part of the equation during the Test series which India won 2-1. Cummins left midway to be by the side of his ailing mother, who subsequently passed away. Starc was used sparingly, and Hazlewood was injured. They operated mostly with spin, and that is not going to be the case at The Oval come June 7.
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India, on paper, are not going to go there with an inferior attack either. Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj have been in tremendous form in the IPL so far. They have carried the attack for their respective teams, and often been the difference between victory and defeat. In England, they are expected to get far more assistance from the conditions and be even more effective.
But who after Shami and Siraj? Surely, India cannot afford to rely on just two. Umesh Yadav and Shardul Thakur are carrying niggles. Jaydev Unadkat is unlikely to play, because of an unfortunate injury sustained while in the nets before an IPL game. Effectively, India do not have a second line of fast bowlers at the moment. Yes, there is the spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, who all played stellar roles during the four home Tests against Australia. But that was in India!
In England in the early part of summer, conditions will not favour spin bowling. At the moment, the Indian attack looks thinner than Australia’s. The three mentioned earlier are fearsome bowlers. Proven performers. In conditions that suit their kind of bowling, Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood can be very dangerous. And they will come hard, because they have a point to prove after a few setbacks they’ve suffered while playing against India.
So this is going to be a very different Australian pace attack. In Australia in 2020-21, it was different because all three played each of the four Tests and were not adequately rested. In India this year, they hardly played. In England, the Indian batters will have their work cut out. A tried-and-tested trio will go full tilt against them. And they will be far fresher than their Indian counterparts. This is going to be a real Test of India’s mettle.