India are copying Australia, and it's costing them victory

India's approach to sledging reminds me of that recent Simpsons/Family Guy crossover joke, where Stewie made a prank phone call to Moe. India kind of get the idea, but the delivery is all wrong, and it usually winds up overstepping the mark by some distance. Moe: “Moe’s Tavern, Moe speaking.” Bart: “Uh yeah, I’m looking for a friend, last name Ki-Bum, first name Lee? Moe: “Hang on I’ll check, hey guys do I got a Lee Ki-Bum, do I got a Lee Ki-Bum?” Bart: "Ok, your turn" Stewie: “Hello Moe, your sister’s being raped.”

This Indian team is a lot closer than we give them credit for - they are learning, and, as all seem to agree, they could be 2-0 or 1-1 right now. SLEDGING - The Indians dont understand what sledging is - they think it is abuse, which it is not. They also tend to lose their temper, once they lose their cool they tend to lose the plot - a sledging coach would be an excellent suggestion - they should keep on improving - the talent is there - watch them over the next 2-3 years.

Fully agree with darren and brian

I agree Kersi, India would be better served playing to their own strengths. I think an offie and a leggie would trouble the Aussies much more than the current pace brigade. Some extra batting sessions for the tailenders mightn't go astray either!

The problem is they are not copying Australia - at least successful Australia. The great Australian team was marked by a 'brand' of what Steve Waugh called 'controlled aggression.' If you take Warnie and Mcgrath, you have two very aggressive bowlers. But they were also incredibly disciplined. McGrath got wickets by bowling an exceptional line and length and Warne was tough because he bowled so few bad or 'boundary' deliveries. Bowlers got stuck into batsmen, but they tried to ensure they didn't throw themselves off. India should have noticed what Haddin said after Oz won the first test - 'we could have played emotionally when things got tough, but we stuck to our skills and our plan.' This is where India are letting themselves down. India are letting their aggression affect their discipline, and at times the emotion has taken over and their skills have slipped - especially when frustrated by the tail. Notice that this has happened at key periods in both test matches. I think trying to be aggressive is fine. But they have to balance it with discipline. Otherwise they will keep losing the big moments. As someone said, the other big issue is the tail. Fair enough to swing like a gate if you are a number 11. India start doing that at 8. They should at least look like they want to stay out there a bit. And finally, their bowlers. It is not enough to bowl early/mid 140's. You have got to bowl well at that speed, or it is bread and butter stuff to Australians. How many 140+ bowlers in Oz never made it beyond shield?

Kersi, this seems to me a simplistic view of what the Indians are trying to do. That the Australians were rubbish against Pakistan in UAE had more to do with the wickets than it did with the makeup of the Pakistani team. If Pakistan played against Australia in Brisbane they wouldn't load their team full of spinners. Also, Ashwin was taken to the cleaners when last in Oz so trying something different wasn't that surprising. Choosing a young leggie may not have been the best option but Ashwin (his batting aside) didn't demand top be picked. Frankly, I expect 4-0 when I read the Indian skipper and Board building excuses for the team. It smacks of the rubbish Australia served up when last in India where you knew they wanted to the series to just finish.

Hi Kersi, I think you're right. The Indians are best when they rely on their subtlety. The Aussies are a different beast. Each should be true to themselves.

And how are you, B2? Compliments of the season. This has been a good series with the matches fluctuating from one side to another. Best wishes to all the Roar readers, writers, editors and commenters.

If sports person behave according to the script sports writers would need alternate employment !!!

They can be aggressive if they want and they can employ sledging too if they want but you need to be smart about it. Johnson is well know for firing up when sledged whilst batting. That then usually translates into a big bowling performance. All they had to do was not sledge Johnson.

Hi Kersi, the current Indian team's average age is 25 to 26, Dhoni being senior most player. All young players have aggressive style be it Dhawan, Kohli, Rahane, Aaron and Yadav. Kohli has always been expressive and never held himself back to give oppostion team's batsmen or bowler a word or two. This approach although a bit new to Indian team, but he has been playing aggressive cricket since his U19 days and as he led in Adelaide test, it was no surprise that he expected other team members to be expressive. Kohli also mentioned in one of the conference that this is the type of approach and thinking he is trying to instil in the team, which I consider a very good and positive move. We will see lot of aggression like this in coming future and it is not only against Australia. While Kohli will learn from experience when to keep attacking or hold back, as situation demands while batting, his aggression and attacking skills are here to stay.

It's impossible to know what effect the sledging of Mitchell Johnson really had. He might have played that way anyway. I think the Indian plan was to bowl short to the tailenders, but it obviously didn't work. However short pitched bowling is by it's very nature, aggressive and I like the way India has taken it up to Australia so far. They are much more competitive and a 0-2 scoreline could easily have been 2-0. They need to refine this new style of play but it has worked pretty well so far. I think the different attitudes of the two Indian captains say a lot. Kholi was positive and attacking in Adelaide and gave no excuses afterwards. Dhoni comes across as a whinger.

The reason India is losing 2-0 in the series and will no doubt lose 4-0 is not the reasons you've given Kersi. The reasons are twofold and obvious to most fans (I support neither of these teams) . The Indian quicks are not consistent enough and bowl too many loose deliveries and the Indian tail is too long and cannot bat at all. In contrast the Australian tail routinely out scores the Australian top order. Once the Aussies get six wickets they have effectively got the Indians out as they usually add only 10-20 runs off for the last four wickets. This is costing India.

I don't think they should be playing two spinners, aside from at Sydney. Look at Ashwin's performance in Brisbane - he barely troubled the Aussies. India have just lost the key moments in each game. But I have been impressed by their young talent - they will have some batting order in a few years.

I agree Darren - while I don't think any of us can really understand what it's like to be Virat Kohli in that situation deep on day 5, one thinks it's not as simple as flicking a mental switch and adjusting your whole batting outlook. I don't think he did anything wrong, it's just that he finally mistimed a ball and made an error. He's only human. Regarding the sledging - I think the issue the Indian teams have is that they have no real idea how to do it with any subtlety or disguise. If you're watching on TV, it's difficult sometimes to pick up on what the Aussies are doing or saying, it's low-key, they're not looking to get in the batsman's face, they're looking to plant a few seeds of doubt and distraction. When India try to do it, it's blatant, everyone knows they're doing it, the Aussies know it too, hell, even the crowd knows it. They wind up looking bratty and frustrated. Maybe they need a sledging coach. Along with their own vegetarian cook for when the local food sucks, a travelling gymnasium for when those pesky AFL teams insist on using their own gym ahead of a visiting cricket team, and a portable heavy roller for those dodgy net pitches. ;)

Agreed on adelaide. With ashwin at 8 they could have won. don't agree on brisbane you gotta play the conditions no point having your spinners demolished on an aussie pitch. Australia tried in India playing 4 paceman and duly lost. At least with Aaron and Yadav they gave themselves a small chance. They just needed 100 more runs in their first innings to take control of the game.

I've actually been impressed with the way India has played, so far, in this series. I do think though that they will regret Dhoni's return to the captaincy as they looked a much stronger unit in Adelaide.

India could easily have been 2 nill up at this point. The only thing that has cost them is the poor batting of the tail. Not that any tail has been able to stand up against MJ since his return.

This is the strongest start to a series in Australia that I can remember for India. I agree with toning down the sledging but the fast bowling and, particularly, the aggressive batting has given them serious chances at victory. The second test went pear-shaped when Dhawin couldn't bat and Kohli went out seemingly distracted. The quicks still made a good fist of bowling them to victory. And to blame Kohli for being too aggressive when he has made 140 chasing over 360 on the last day? Easy to say he only needed singles at that point - if he took that attitude for the whole innings the only result they could have hoped for was a draw.