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What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
Travis Head ensures Australia reach WTC final; Defeat notwithstanding, Rohit Sharma hints India will continue to put faith in spin
A place in the World Test Championship is the key stake in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy. Of course, the bragging rights are always there… It’s India versus Australia after all – a rivalry that now parallels The Ashes.
Australia’s place in the WTC final, scheduled to be played at The Oval in June, is taken for granted. It was India vs a host of others.
Two Tests into the four-match Border Gavaskar Trophy, it was Australia whose place looked doubtful after India took them for a spin.
A struggling Australia, with some of its top players recovering from injuries, found itself in the abyss as they found themselves caught in a web of spin concocted by a fit-again Ravindra Jadeja and a mechanical R Ashwin.
However, amid those emphatic wins, the not-so-secret fact about Indian batters’ struggle against spin also came to the fore. To be honest, it was the all-round performances from Jadeja and Axar Patel that helped them cross the line in the two Tests.
However, India’s luck appeared to have run out in the third Test at Indore. Rookie Matthew Kuhnemann and player of the match Nathan Lyon executed their plans to perfection as they first bowled out India for just 109 in the first innings before wrapping them up for 163 in the second innings.
Not that the Australians themselves were great in the first innings – they lost six wickets for just 11 runs. But before one of their worst lower-order performances, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne ensured they took a crucial 88-run first innings lead.
To be honest, the target of 76 in the second innings is never going to be enough for the Indian spinners – even for the likes of Ashwin and Jadeja.
Travis Head and Labuschagne showed how the visitors had improved over the two Tests as they came up with a stout defence before playing their strokes.
Starting from that incredible 6/11 and the early loss of Khawaja, Head and Labuschagne focused on survival as both Ashwin and Jadeja got a turn, extracted bounce, beat the bat and hit the pads. But once the ball was replaced, after the umpires noticed the seam had come off, Head and Labuschagne changed gears to put an end to any Indian hopes.
Head remained unbeaten with a 53-ball 49 that saw six fours and a six off Ashwin. Labuschagne, on the other hand, dropped anchor with an unbeaten 58-ball 28 that saw six boundaries as Australia sealed the WTC final berth.
India, on the other hand, will hope to seal the deal at the world’s biggest cricket stadium, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
If they can’t, then it will all come down to prayers, as they will bank on New Zealand not losing 0-2 against Sri Lanka at home.
And despite their struggle, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma is defiant that at-home spin is the way for the team.
“Honestly speaking, these are the kinds of pitches we want to play on,” Sharma said after Australia’s nine-wicket win. “This is our strength, so when you’re playing at home, you always play to your strength and don’t worry about what people outside are talking about,” he said.
BRIEF SCORE: India 109 & 163 lost to Australia 197 & 78/1 (Travis Head 49*, Marnus Labuschagne 28*; R Ashwin 1/44)
