Test series between Australia and India have been lopsided in recent times – always in favour of the home team.
For two superpowers of world cricket, this is disappointing.
We have to go all the way back to 2004 for the last visiting team, where Australia, in Michael Clarke’s first series, won 2-1 under the captaincy of Adam Gilchrist. This win was seen as the final frontier for the great Australian team that included names like Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Matt Hayden and Justin Langer, while captain Ricky Ponting missed the first three Tests of that series through injury.
India were the last away Test winner, at Perth where the Indians won by 72 runs in the match immediately following the ‘monkeygate’ affair at the Sydney new year Test.
Since then it has gone 14-0 from 17 Tests (up to Melbourne) to the home team. So, who will be the next away team to win an Australia versus India Test match?
I say India, and it could be as soon as the Sydney Test.
A formidable young batting line up is being built by the Indians. Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane are in the top four run scorers in this current series, while Che Pujara has shown his class at times.
All have proven they can make runs overseas, which some great Indian players of the past struggled to do.
If they can lock down the other opening spot with Vijay and number six they will look even better. There is a brittleness to the Indian batting which sees them collapse once the best players are out away from home. This must be rectified.
The Australian batting line up has come up short time and time again in India, particularly struggling against the relentless Indian spinners.
Our two best players of spin are Michael Clarke and Steve Smith, however Clarke is no certainty to be there the next time we tour the sub-continent.
India’s pace bowling attack, while nowhere near as talented or deep as Australia’s, is far from the worst and will bowl the occasional spell that wins them an away Test match, such as Ishant Sharma did at Lord’s in 2014.
The spin bowling is the big difference. India have a plethora of spinning options that bamboozle the Australian batsman each tour, making it virtually impossible for the Aussies to win a Test, let alone a series.
Improving the batting against spin is Darren Lehmann’s number one priority prior to the next Australian tour to India.
Nathan Lyon is growing as a Test quality off-spinner. The biggest issue for Australia when touring India is the second spinner as two are needed on those pitches. The selectors will be looking towards the young leg-spinning options in Cameron Boyce and James Muirhead as well as left-arm orthodox spinner Ashton Agar to take that second spinning role.
On the flip side of that argument, Ravi Ashwin, while not dominating in this current series, has been a solid performer with seven wickets in three Tests and has provided some batting depth at number 8, showing he can perform a role in Australian conditions.
In Kohli, the Indians have a brash captain who is prepared to give as good as he gets, also something past Indians have been reluctant to do. A player like this will and has clashed with the Australians.
It’s this new attitude that has the Indians ready for the fight on the road, not only on the field but with the hostile crowds around the country.
If Kohli can harness this new attitude to pull the team together the Indians could pull of that way win in Sydney.
Or if not, it’s over to Australia to try and break the streak.
Targa
Guest
"NZ showed us how mediocre cricket is done" So scoring 690 at 4.5 runs an over and taking 20 wickets to win by an innings (with a spinner getting a 10-fer and a seamer getting huge swing) against the team that absolutely slaughtered Australia showed how mediocre cricket is played?!?!
Rob
Guest
AUS won in South Africa against the number 1 ranked team?
matth
Guest
One big problem for Australia is the second spinner. Because we play a single spinner 95% of the time, when we get to the sub-continent, chances are our second spinner is inexperienced and fairly useless. So we are already a bowler behind the eight-ball.
matth
Guest
How did we lose by arrogance? I thought we lost by clueless batting in the conditions and by Younis going all Bradman on our backsides.
sahas
Guest
Ha ha bringing the pitches again!
English twizz
Guest
Wait for the dust bowls of 2015
Blake Standfield
Roar Guru
Call me ignorant but I still say pitches in Asia are not real cricket compared to pitches in Australia, England South Africa and New Zealand. I would classify West Indian pitches with Asia but thy're not relevant in modern cricket anyway. Having said that it's a big problem for Australia that we can't even compete on these pitches that encourage mediocre cricket. The two Tests against Pakistan should have been bore draws but Australia's arrogance lost both matches. NZ showed us how mediocre cricket is done.
Brian
Guest
The pitches have quite clearly been 'modified' for the Indians; I've never been the gabba or mcg so flat. If India did the same for us, then I think we'd have a chance overseas. Kohli has yet to prove he can play as well on decks that favour seem or bounce, his English tour was abysmal.
Tom from Perth
Roar Rookie
We're chasing number 1 test status, so every test is important.
Tom from Perth
Roar Rookie
Aus would get rolled in the UAE.
Nudge
Guest
Any time PIO. In Queensland at the moment though mate.
Rellum
Roar Guru
I would say that, given the batting sort of evened itself out, the separate bowing efforts were the difference in each game. Lyon at Adelaide, Johnson at the Gabba and Harris in Melbourne are what broke the games each time in Aus's favour. I guess that combined with the difference in each tails output.
Pom in Oz
Roar Guru
Hi Nudge. Yeah, I didn't think this through, did I? Maybe I'll come down and see you at Glenelg...have a couple of coldies at the Dublin... :)
Rellum
Roar Guru
If we keep serving up decks like we have this summer then it will be India. I think it is fair to say that going from a bouncy deck to a flat lifeless one is easier than the other way around, so if we stick to what make Australia cricket decks bouncing then I would think it would be more likely to be Aus. One then to remember is that visiting pacemen rarely bowl the right length when touring here so even if India finds a good group of quicks they actually have to bowl not only at their best but with a different length as well. I does take an exceptional team to win away from home when these two countries play so I not sure it will happen for a while. Our young spinners are really an unknown quality, our young quicks are good but can they do something with the ball in India. Our batting stocks are poor but maybe improving but our defensive technique and approach to batting there is poor still. I will say it will be Australia as we are a power house in world cricket with a strong history of leading the game with advancements, added to that some very good young players coming up plus Boof leading the way. I think in two tours time we might give it a shake....as long as we keep our bouncy decks and don't give into the desire for T20 roads.
Prosenjit majumdar
Guest
Surely it's india, the reason being australia's close to the worst batting lineup in the world against spin.just look at the UAE series there was no ajmal or abdur rehman, and they got beaten by babar and a rookie leg spinner.
JMW
Guest
An excellent plan Nudge! Especially the bacon and eggs :)
JMW
Guest
It's apparent to me that sportsmen and sports women the world over play best in their home conditions. It's what they have grown up with and their skill sets are developed and honed to succeed on their home patch. That's why winning away is so coveted. It's no disgrace being beaten away from home which is why their is no excuse for losing at home. It's only logical. If it's so important to Cricket Australia to win away from home on sub continental pitches then they would need to replicate the conditions and develop and coach a squad of players suited to those conditions. That probably won't happen so I'll content myself with watching our home team prevail.
Nudge
Guest
You shouldn't be going back to work till the 12th PIO. I'll teach you how the 5 days should roll during the SCG test. Up around 7 and walk down and get paper, and back to read paper then Bacon and eggs. Head down beach around 10, with radio and stay at beach till 12, having a couple of swims and listening to Jim Maxwell in between. Back for lunch and watching cricket till around 2.30, perhaps getting a 20 min kip in on the couch if the kids aren't too loud. Back to the beach around 2.30 with the cricket on radio and back around 3.30 for the last session on t.v. Around 6 when the cricket is all over start really talking to your misses a lot, so your a real chance to do it all over again the next day.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
I think Australia would win in England, NZ, or SA. India still need low, slow spinning conditions to be close to their best, although their batsmen are making strides.
jamesb
Guest
Whole heartly agree Nudge. Australia is probably two or three years away from fielding a strong team. Lyon, as a spinner has over 100 wickets and pretty soon, he will be entering the best years of his career. We have depth in fast bowling with Bird, Behrendorpp, Cummins, Pattinson, Starc and Hazelwood. And let's not forget, a couple of other young unknown fast bowlers could also be coming through. With the batting, we need three specialist batsman to make the step up and supporting Warner and Smith. With wicketkeeper/batsman, like fast bowlers, there are so many options. Wade, Nevill, Whiteman, Carters or Handscombe. Could be an exciting cricket side to follow in two or three years time.