IND vs AUS: Australia give India major reality check in lead to World Cup 2023

By the end of their over month-long tour, the Aussies are the number one ranked team in the Test as well as the ODI format.

Their Nagpur defeat by an innings and 132 runs is a thing of the past now. After losing the second Test in Delhi from a strong position, Australia defeated India in three of the next five matches.

The Rohit Sharma-led team managed to win the 4-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1 thanks to the batting paradise in Ahmedabad which forced a high-scoring draw in the series decider. Had another spinning surface been on offer, Australia were very much in line to level the series 2-2 after an emphatic 10-wicket win in Indore.

Regardless, they have now snatched the number one ODI ranking from India, broken their four-year-long streak and given them a major reality check in a World Cup year. They have indeed finished the tour morally and mentally on a high.

India’s weakness against left-arm pacer was once again exposed in the first and second ODI. Mitchell Starc struck thrice inside eleven overs in the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium to reduce the hosts to 39 for four in a 189-run chase. India escaped from the situation after a century partnership between KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja for the sixth wicket.

Come the second ODI and Starc pounced over India all over again – this time with an intensity high enough to allow the Men in Blue an escape route. The lanky left-arm pacer showcased a swing bowling masterclass in Visakhapatnam (Vizag) as India were bundled out for 117 – their fourth lowest total in a home ODI match.

The Aussies did not stop there and added salt to the wound by chasing the total in 117 runs to hand India their biggest defeat in terms of balls left.

Just like the Test series, India were again caught off-guard, and the final match was to decide the result of the series. A batting-friendly wicket saved India from a threatening Australian side in the final Test in Ahmedabad but the refurbished Chepauk in Chennai did not provide them the same shelter.

Australia entered the ODI series-decider with a plan. Not a single batter from the team scored a fifty but they ended up posting an above-par total of 269 after electing to bat first.

India in reply got off to a flying, scoring 65 runs off nine overs before Rohit ended up giving a catch to the only fielder standing deep on the leg side. His partner Shubman Gill followed him back in the pavilion three overs later and the run scoring dried up despite the class of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul in the middle.

The duo partnered for 69 runs but off 93 balls as the Australia spinners took charge. Rahul’s 50-ball stay was brought to an end in the second over of his second spell. From 65/0 in 9 overs and then 146/2 in 27.4 overs, India within no time were reduced to 185/6 in 35.2 overs.

Kohli again emerged as India’s top-scorer with 54 but his 72-ball stay never looked fluent. Axar Patel’s promotion at number five ended with a run out, Suryakumar Yadav got out for his third consecutive duck and Ravindra Jadeja also perished after struggling for his 33-ball 18.

India’s failure to tackle quality spin was exposed this time around. This had come to the fore in the Test series as well. Axar and Ravichandran Ashwin pulled India out of the rut in the second innings, and the hosts were bundled out for 109 and 163 before losing the following third Test in Indore by nine wickets.

India batters once known to dominate spin bowling, and now allow the overseas spinners to take charge. Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Jadeja all miscued their shots while trying to break the shackles off the spinners, getting caught out in the process.

Nathan Lyon, Toddy Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann in the Tests while Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar in the Chennai ODI – have confirmed India’s vulnerability against quality spin to the world.

IND vs AUS: India served reality check in lead to World Cup 2023

A 35-year-old Rohit is no more playing those big innings. Hardik, who had confessed of wanting to emulate MS Dhoni’s role of batting deep, does not do it quite often. The problem is against left-arm pace and now quality spin. The uncertainty in the middle-order. All these have popped up together once again in a World Cup year.

In the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who will reportedly be out of action for next five months due to his back injury, a musical chair for the number four spot might just begin. Suryakumar registered two golden ducks at the position before being pushed down to number seven in Chennai. Axar was promoted ahead of Hardik, Jadeja and Suryakumar due to his current batting form. The experiments have started but India will have to settle down with one combination sooner than later.

For now the star batters would find themselves busy in the glittery IPL showdown now, but Rohit and Rahul Dravid have a lot to worry about with the ICC ODI World Cup slated to be played in October-November in India.