Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Pune
Indians live in hope. Whatever the odds, they think that the cricket team can surmount them. Even after Rohit Sharma’s boys got bowled out for 46 in the first innings of the first Test, fans believed something was possible. It’s no different in the second Test. Despite New Zealand taking a lead of 301 runs with five wickets standing, the Blue Army thinks this can be overturned.
For hope, a lot of people are looking back to the India-England Test in Chennai in 2008. Trailing by 75 runs in the first innings and being set a target of 387 in the fourth essay, the hosts scripted one of the most remarkable Test wins of that decade. Against New Zealand in the second Test, India might have to chase something like that to square the series.
So, if Chennai was possible, why not Pune? Nothing logically wrong with this thought, but practically, it looks like a distant dream. Yes, India did make 462 in the second innings in Bengaluru after 46 all out. They still lost the match. And, this Indian batting line-up is not what that team of 2008 was made of. To think that they will chase down 300-plus on a turning track is a bit too much.
Gautam Gambhir had played a part in that memorable chase by making 66 and sharing an opening stand of 117 with Virender Sehwag, who was named Player of the Match for scoring a 68-ball 83. Sachin Tendulkar cracked an unbeaten 103 and Yuvraj Singh remained not out on 85. Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni were the other members of that batting line-up.
With due respect to the current set of players, they are not what that team was. That was the golden generation of India’s batting. This one is good, but there is a gulf in temperament between this bunch and that one. It’s not anybody’s fault. Cricket has changed and so has the thought pattern of the batters.
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Gambhir, the coach now, is at best a passive link between these two generations. He can only watch and not bat for 11 hours to save a Test, like he did in New Zealand in 2008. He has said that this team can make 400-plus in a day and also bat for two days to draw a game if need be. It sounds great, but there is no reason to believe that players of today’s age can do that.
Take for example the Indian first innings in the ongoing Test. Although not spiteful, the pitch assisted spin. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill made a decent start on Day 2 before calamity hit India. Some of the shots were inexplicable. Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan all displayed imprudence in execution. That was unbecoming of Test-class batters.
They believe in a high-risk and high-reward principle. When it comes off, it looks fantastic. But because the risk element is so high, the probability of this philosophy paying dividends is exponentially less. Miracles may happen. Can one depend on miracles? That explains why the task confronting the Indians at the moment is so daunting and almost impossible.
This is why it seems that making a match of this one is beyond India’s reach. The ball is stopping, gripping and turning. The odd one has kept low. Under the circumstances, Chennai 2008 is unlikely. This is more like Pune 2017, when Australia inflicted a heavy defeat on the hosts on a turning track after making 260 in the first innings. This time, New Zealand’s first-innings total was 259.
The difference is, India had won that series in 2017 by a margin of 2-1. This time, another New Zealand win will result in India’s first home series loss after 2012. It will end a run of 18 consecutive series wins. More importantly, it will serve as a wake-up call just before a marquee five-Test tour of Australia coming up soon after this one.
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