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Opinion

Does India's triumph herald a decade of dominance?

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Roar Guru
20th January, 2021
28

If the period in world cricket from 1977 to 1995 belonged to the West Indies and the period from 1995 to 2005 belonged to the Aussies, then I fear the coming decade will belong to India.

As others have written, the Indian triumph in this Australian summer was like nothing seen before. I can think of no precedent where a team devastated for 36, decimated by injury and devoid of its most fabled player simply refused to give up; ultimately prevailing deep in the last hour of the last day of the last Test. If the Australian team played with that kind of resilience, I would be a very happy supporter – walking around with a stupidly satisfied grin on my face.

Whilst pundits have rightly lauded the likes of Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant for their scarcely fathomable gallantry on the last day of this epic series, I attribute the Indian victory to two middle-order batsmen of whom few had heard before this Test: Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur.

On the third day in Brisbane, Thakur strode to the middle of Gabba, to join his unsung partner, Sundar, with the Indian score at 6-for-186 – still 150 behind the Aussies’ first innings score of 336. Most batsmen in their position would have been nervous. Thakur, at least, was playing his second match and had his Test debut behind him. Playing his maiden Test, however, Sundar did not have that luxury.

Had they failed, it would have been understandable. But with three haplessly unaccomplished batsmen to come in behind them, there was every chance that India may have surrendered a lead of 100 or more. With half the day to play, Australia could have accumulated a lead north of 250, with two days still to play. Then it’s a very different Test match.

Instead, the young men batted with confidence and verve, with competence and daring. They repelled everything the Australian bowling attack hurled at them and they prospered. Together, Sundar and Thakur contributed 129 runs to the Indian total and propelled their team to within 33 runs of the Australian score. Rather than being 250 or more ahead at stumps, the Aussies only enjoyed a slender lead of 54.

India's paceman Mohammed Siraj (C) celebrates his fifth wicket with teammates

India celebrate a wicket in the fourth Test (Photo by PATRICK HAMILTON/AFP via Getty Images)

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Australia should have started day four, luxuriating in the comfort of a healthy lead and pressing forward towards an imposing total, with time to spare. Instead, runs, wickets, time and weather were all in the mix when they made their uncomfortable calculations. As it turned out, even a seemingly distant target of 328 was not enough.

Australia lost this match long before the heroics of day five. The Test was lost on day three when Sundar and Thakur – two youngsters of close to zero Test experience – defied the most-feared bowling attack in modern Test cricket.

That India can lose the majority of their preferred team and still prevail is sobering. That they can win away from home is daunting. And that Indian management can cast a confident eye around their squad, point to two unknown kids and say, “Washington and Shardul, you’re up!” is terrifying for the rest of us.

That depth of skill and composure – not to mention character – heralds a period of Indian dominance like no other.

And, frankly, it’s going to be thrilling to watch.

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