It’s a marathon, not a sprint: India don’t need to panic after 2nd Test loss

This is an expression that we usually see used in our lives, especially when we aim to achieve long-term goals.

The same applies to sports as well and can well be used in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India. The Indian team secured a statement win in Perth, when they put behind the memories of a 0-3 loss to New Zealand. Now, Australia have bounced back in sensational fashion to claim victory in the pink-ball Test.

The series is evenly poised at the moment and the momentum does seem like it is with the hosts. But, India have been a team that has faced setbacks and bounced back in fine fashion. This has almost become the mantra for the side, who have been dominant across all 3 formats of the game, which was seen with them reaching the finals of the World Test Championship, ODI World Cup and ultimately winning the T20 World Cup.

The series is evenly poised at the moment and the momentum does seem like it is with the hosts. But, India have been a team that has faced setbacks and bounced back in fine fashion. This has almost become the mantra for the side, who have been dominant across all 3 formats of the game, which was seen with them reaching the finals of the World Test Championship, ODI World Cup and ultimately winning the T20 World Cup.

Well, they just went on to return the favour to the Aussies, beating them by a heavy margin of 137 runs. India would then see off the series with a draw in the final Test to clinch their first major win down under.

In 2020-21, we all know what happened in Adelaide during the pink-ball Test when India were bundled out for just 36 runs in the second innings. The team was once again written off as Virat Kohli was ruled out of the series and the team would face many obstacles.

However, they showed resilience to bounce back and win the series in Gabba. So the history does back the Indian team but there need to be a few things they need to change.

A bit more intensity from Captain Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharna’s record as a captain speaks for itself as he has always been the one to lead from the front with the bat. In the pink-ball Test, he decided to allow KL Rahul continue up top and bat at No.6, a spot he left 6 years ago.

The experiment clearly failed in Adelaide but questions were also raised about Rohit’s energy in the game. At times, the India captain looked a bit low and that sort of affected the whole team. Ravi Shastri said it best when he claimed that an energetic Rohit would bring the belief to the team that they can bounce back.

“Just thought he was a little too subdued, just seeing his body language. The fact that he didn’t make runs, I don’t think there was enough on the field there. I just wanted to see him more involved, and a little more animated. You still have to believe that you can bounce back in this series. You have seen with these two teams, that the counter-punch is almost immediate. It’s happened over the last 10 years. You lose one, you win the next, but you have to have the belief,” Ravi Shastri told the broadcasters
during the second Test.

So, Rohit needs to be more energetic on the field and probably return to the top order.

Bumrah needs support
There is no fault that you could find in Jasprit Bumrah’s performance so far in the series. In 2 matches, the pacer has 12 wickets with an average of 11.25. He has been India’s best player by a country mile, but the issue he faced in Adelaide was that he didn’t find a good partner.

Mohammed Siraj may have picked up 4 wickets but conceded a lot of runs. The young Harshit Rana got a dose of reality in the match as he was targeted by the Aussies. This left Bumrah always being the one to make something happen.

India will need to ensure they support their star pacer, who has been the highest wicket-taker in Tests this year. Now he needs the rest of the pack to step up and that was something Sunil Gavaskar alluded to while talking to India Today exclusively.

“I have hope that India can bounce back. If Harshit Rana can bowl like he did in Perth, then India can bounce back. What India lacked in Adelaide was a No.3 bowler. Australia, despite not having Hazlewood in their team, but Scott Boland came to the party. He picked wickets at crucial times and picked big wickets. So if Harshit can do what he did in Perth, then India can bounce back,” said Gavaskar.

So the small tweaks need to be made and India can definitely bounce back. All they need to remember is that, there is still a lot more left in the series to play for.