CHENNAI: They are 17 going on 18, and the sound of music in the India camp is getting sweeter by the day.
Barring Virat Kohli, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, none of the Indian players in the current set-up know what it is to lose a Test series at home.
India have won 17 consecutive series since the loss to England in 2012, a phenomenal record.Even the opposition teams know they are virtually fighting a losing battle.
In every conversation that the Bangladeshi players or support-staff had with the media over the last few days, the refrain was: “Yes, we won in Pakistan, but Team India is a different kettle of fish.”
Rohit wants to seal the World Test Championship Final berth before they leave for Australia and the first hurdle has been cleared with a resounding 280-run win against Bangladesh at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.
Not just the margin of victory, it’s the aura of this team playing at home that is quite incredible. It seems as if they want to increase the degree of difficulty themselves so that the team can be tested before the Australia series.
In Chennai, they chose not to play on their favoured black-soil pitch despite having the best spin troika in the world. A red-soil pitch with decent bounce seemed good preparation for Australia and after being reduced to 144/6, the batting prowess of the two bowling allrounders Ashwin and Jadeja once again underlined India’s depth.
Virtually every box was ticked in Chennai barring two back-to-back low scores by the two superstars of Indian batting – Virat Kohli and Rohit. But all the others got runs and the five bowlers did what was expected of them.
“It was a great result, looking at what lies ahead. We were playing after a while but were in touch with the game. It was important that we work as a group and that’s what happened here as we got the win,” Rohit said.
There’s hardly a grey area to worry about and it will be interesting to see what India’s gameplan is for the Kanpur Test starting on Friday. There’s a theory that Jasprit Bumrah shouldn’t be overworked before Australia, but he has bowled only 21 overs in the first Test and there’s no reason to rest him in Kanpur.
Will Kuldeep get a go?
If it is a black-soil pitch at the Green Park, there is a possibility that left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav will get a go. He was in magnificent form in the last Test series against England at home and can be a genuine wicket-taking option in Australia. If there’s a chance of the ball turning a bit, the spinner should an ideal candidate in place of Akash Deep.
Not that there’s any reason to drop the Bengal pacer. He got two important wickets in the first innings and looked good with the new ball but the Indian team management should look to keep Kuldeep’s morale high.