“The most dangerous moment comes with victory.” This famous quote of Napoleon Bonaparte is synonymous with the ongoing cricket battle between India and Australia. The four-match Test series, currently level at 1-1, is at a very crucial stage where both the sides have had success and many worrying issues as well. India, having been humbled and embarrassed after being bowled out for just 36 runs in the first Test, showed resilience and remarkable tenacity to turn the tables on the Australians in the second Test match. Both sides are now at a stage where the ‘moment of victory’ puts them at a precarious and dangerous stage.
India will need to keep their winning momentum intact, whereas Australia will need to forget their dismal performance in the second Test match. They have to remind themselves of the wonderful moments of the first Test match.
The beauty of Test cricket is at its peak and the third Test match, to be held in Sydney from January 7, should be a rocking affair. Both India and Australia look evenly poised and well matched. The bowlers of both sides have had the upper-hand and gritty batting has been the differential factor for a change. Maybe the long stretch of lockdown regulations and the lack of cricket have had an effect on the form and fitness of the batters more than that of the bowlers. One area of the game which has gone down significantly has been catching. India was the major defaulter in the first Test whereas Australia were butter-fingered in the second.
The Indian team’s revival from hitting rock bottom could be one of the most astonishing performances by any side in the history of the game. A dejected, destroyed and depleted Indian team, without Mohammed Shami, one of their main bowlers and their most trusted batsman and captain in Virat Kohli, looked to be a side ready for slaughter. A team that had none of their batsmen reach a double figure in the second innings of the first Test was a bunch that needed a complete change of attitude and approach.
The team’s success can be attributed to the work behind the scenes by the support staff as well as players, who highlighted the new found confident attitude of the present day Indian. One was sceptical as to whether this Indian side had that inherent character to get up and fight after having suffered a knock-out punch. For them to do so was a grand moment for Indian cricket.
The Indian think tank needs to be complimented for bringing in four new players in Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj. For all of them, sitting on the bench during the first Test match and watching their colleagues being humiliated by the opponents must have been an agonising experience. Each one was unable to do anything about it at that time, but must have been mentally charged to take revenge. IANS