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In the end, it’s the hope that kills you…

10th December, 2018
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10th December, 2018
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Ultimately, the result went pretty much as expected, with Australia’s bowlers ensuring the Test contest was pure, but Australia’s batsmen falling short of the mark.

That the Aussies got to within 31 runs makes it all the more heart-breaking. The margin was getting to the point where good old cricketing superstitions were being pulled out. I know I was readying my office colleagues for the prospect of not doing anything differently and avoiding sudden movements.

Set 323 to win, a 31-run loss is close enough to be gallant in defeat, but still far enough away to be annoyed by the 5/120 in the first innings and 5/115 in the second.

There is no doubt the batting must improve, and quickly.

There were far too many loose shots in both innings. They were not even isolated to certain batsmen, either. This makes me want to repeat something I first brought up during the limited overs series: why then, is the Australian batting focus all about boundaries and power?

Boundaries and power might win matches on the day, but losing your entire top order to fundamental errors definitely will not.

If Australia’s batting coach Graeme Hick had a job ahead of him during the white-ball series, it no-less confronting now that the Test series is already in deficit.

But while the bowlers were the reason the Australian loss was as narrow as it was, they were also guilty of letting their execution slide through this Test.

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If Sunday afternoon was where Australia – and Nathan Lyon in particular – set up the possibility of winning the Test, then the evening session on Saturday and Sunday morning was where it probably got away from them.

Nathan Lyon bowls (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Resuming at tea on Day 3 at 2/86, India’s lead was only just a hundred, and with Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli still both relatively new to the wicket. Although the Australian bowlers were applying the pressure, and bowling plenty of good deliveries, the Indian batsmen were also allowed to keep the scoreboard ticking, edging the lead higher and higher, and returning the pressure back on the Australians in the process.

Of the 32 overs bowled in the evening session on Saturday, only nine of them were maidens, and two of them came from the final two overs of the day in that period after Lyon had Kohli caught at short leg, and from which only one run and three leg byes were added to the score in 23 deliveries.

Bar two overs from Travis Head that went for 13 runs, Lyon had the City End all to himself, returning 0/22 from his first spell of ten overs, and 1/2 from the second spell of four overs. So while Lyon was keeping the runs down from his end, Pujara and Kohli were able to keep chipping away at the other end.

The Kohli wicket was obviously crucial, and while Pujara has happy to use his feet against Lyon, it was notable that Kohli remained locked to his crease. The more Lyon bowled to him late in the day, aiming outside the rough in front of Kohli’s face, the more the danger for the Indian captain grew. Kohli seemed more intent on occupying the crease, but as the ball started coming back at him sharply, it was funny how uncomfortable the best batsman in the world suddenly looked.

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In the end, Lyon got his man with a wonderful off-break that exploded out of the rough into Kohli, and taking a big inside edge before ballooning up to Aaron Finch. Despite Lyon’s victory this time, it would be hugely surprising if Kohli doesn’t have a period of carnage against the spinner at some point this series.

Come Sunday morning, and though the lead was still only 166, Australia’s bowling lost its way to the tune of 109 runs in 34 overs – and 58 in 18 overs before Drinks. This is where much of the criticism of Mitchell Starc stems from, with some surprisingly ordinary bowling coupled with some underwhelming body language and general demeanour being enough to warrant further forensic observations of his returns over the last year or so.

Starc is hardly going to be dropped for the second Test in Perth this week, but a performance like his on Sunday morning certainly gives rise to the idea of giving Pat Cummins the new rock. Equally, it allowed India to push their lead out to 265 by lunch, and even losing 5/47 after that, India’s position from Tea on Day 3 to Lunch on Day 4 graduated from a touch anxious to bloody comfortable.

Mitchell Starc of Australia looks on

Mitchell Starc of Australia looks on during day four of the First Test match in the series between Australia and India at Adelaide Oval on December 09, 2018 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

With the short turnaround to the second Test in Perth this week, and despite a myriad of suggestions already out there – of both the sensible and less sensible (think Shane Warne again pumping for Marcus Stoinis) varieties – I can’t really see a lot of opportunity for great change.

Which means we’re talking better mental preparation around mindset and attitude, with some suitable execution and technique tweaks that will hopefully limit the number of in-game brain explosions. Perhaps the biggest challenge this week will be Justin Langer and his assistants.

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For all the talk of thumpings and humiliation in the lead-up to Adelaide, 31 runs is indeed a pretty good showing.

There certainly is plenty of room for improvement ahead of the second Test. It’s up to the Australians to ensure the ultimately fatal hope we experienced on Monday isn’t of the false type in Perth.

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