Subhayan Chakraborty at SCG
Another day, another batting collapse—or rather, a shaky batting performance—as the Indian team seemed to retreat into a shell, handing Australia a slight advantage, on Day 1 of the first innings of the Pink Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The visitors were bowled out for just 185 runs. This has been the recurring narrative for the Indian team since the start of the 2024-25 season, whether against Bangladesh, New Zealand at home, or now in Australia. The lack of runs has turned into a daily saga, with dismissals following a predictable pattern. On Day 1 of the New Year’s Test, after going down 1-2 in the series, despite the opening win, the Indian team appeared bogged down.
Reports during the last few days have suggested unrest in the dressing room under the coaching of Gautam Gambhir. Even regular captain Rohit Sharma was dropped for the fifth and final Test due to an underwhelming batting performance. Jasprit Bumrah at the toss emphasised on “unity in the dressing room,” noting that Rohit had decided to “rest himself.” Has the criticism from newspapers and social media penetrated the Indian dressing room, which has claimed for years not to be bothered by ‘outside noise’? It certainly seemed so.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul found themselves in two minds during their dismissals. Jaiswal misjudged the seam movement from Boland, while Rahul casually flicked a delivery straight to Sam Konstas. Shubman Gill, who replaced Rohit in the lineup, edged one just before Lunch, and Virat Kohli yet again poked at a delivery outside the off-stump, gifting his wicket to Boland.
Rishabh Pant adopted an ultra-defensive approach, contrary to his natural game, while Ravindra Jadeja managed a strike rate of just 27. Nitish Kumar Reddy was caught in the slips like Kohli, and Washington Sundar was given out for 14.
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“In this innings, I wasn’t in a frame of mind where I wanted to take charge of the game because the wicket was doing too much and the kind of situation we were in, I felt I could play a little bit of defensive cricket,” Rishabh Pant told reporters after the end of Day 1 in Sydney. “Yes, there is time to attack but you have to feel it from inside. I can’t just premeditate that I am going to play this way. Whatever the game asks me to do on that given day, I try to do that. That was the mindset.
“It is not very difficult (to curb attacking instincts). Initial part would be difficult, but sometimes you have to play more sensible cricket. There might be 50-50 chances in today’s innings which I could have taken, but sometimes you have to play more secure cricket especially the way the wicket was behaving, knowing that if we lose another wicket then we might lose two or three more in quick succession. That was the idea behind how I was playing today. Pretty fine with the way I am playing,” he added.
India chose to bat first on an overcast day. Whether the decision to bat was correct or not can be deliberated upon, with Australia, too, wanting to have a bat in case they won the toss. The pitch was not unplayable but offered more than enough assistance to the pacers, who capitalised on it. At Tea, with India still in the game at 107/4, Boland had induced 40.2% false shots from the Indian batters. Cummins was at 25.8%, Starc at 19.1%, Nathan Lyon at 8.2%, and debutant Beau Webster, bowling in the 120s, at 22.4%.
Before the Sydney Test, in his first press conference of the tour, head coach Gautam Gambhir admitted to having “honest” conversations in the dressing room following the Melbourne defeat. This came after reports that Gambhir had sharply criticised certain players, stating “Bohut ho gaya” (enough is enough).
“I don’t think I need to answer any reports. There were some honest words. That’s all I can say,” Gambhir stated. “Honesty is extremely important if you want to achieve great things,” he added on Thursday.
Gambhir lashed out at the team after the Melbourne loss, where Australia secured a 2-1 lead with a 184-run victory. Post-match, he had one-on-one discussions with a couple of players. The batters, instructed to ‘play according to the situation’ rather than their natural style, seemed to retreat into a shell. While Jaiswal and Rahul tried to leave deliveries to counter the new ball, Gill lost his wicket right before lunch. This was the sixth instance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy where Kohli edged a delivery in the channel.
This series has been a rollercoaster for India. After the high of Perth, the team’s confidence seemed to wane. Test legend Ravichandran Ashwin retired mid-series after being dropped in Brisbane. The lineup has seen constant changes since the first Test; Sundar was dropped after Perth, Ashwin after Adelaide, and Gill after Brisbane. KL Rahul’s batting position has been shuffled, and Harshit Rana has not featured in the XI since his impressive debut in Perth followed by a lacklustre performance in Adelaide.
On Day 1 in Sydney, the Indian batters appeared to lack security and seemed fearful of further criticism or being dropped from the side, leading to a defensive ‘blockathon’ that stifled the run-rate. Jaiswal’s strike rate was 38.46, Rahul’s 28.57, Gill’s 31.25, Kohli’s 24.64, Pant’s 40.82, Jadeja’s 27.37, and Sundar’s 46.67. Indian players, used to being stars, are not accustomed to such stern critiques, especially post-loss. Did that affect their batting?
While Indian batters are allowed to play defensively, to retreat into a shell, and to block or leave deliveries, was this approach necessary on a pitch, against a pace attack, that would ultimately get your wicket with that one delivery? The conditions at SCG were challenging but far from unplayable, as the Indian batting suggested. Was this performance driven by fear of being dropped or by directives from those managing the dressing room?
Also Read: Australia take honours on day 1; Bumrah gives India flicker of hope