2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by Team India in the 2nd Test vs Australia
Team India took massive strides towards sealing their spot in the final of the World Test Championship with a hard-fought six-wicket win over Australia in the second Test in Delhi.
Ravindra Jadeja was once again the star of the show as he picked up 10 wickets to walk away with the Player of the Match award. Australia were in with a shot until the third morning, but Jadeja ripped through the batting lineup to help the hosts take the ascendancy.
Rohit Sharma and Co. will be happy with their commanding 2-0 lead in the series, but they will know that there's always room for improvement. Here are two mistakes and one masterstroke made by the hosts in the second Test against Australia.
#3 Mistake - India aren't using Axar Patel's bowling enough
The fact that India have won two Tests against Australia without any significant bowling contributions from Axar Patel is a testament to the strength of their side. However, it's safe to claim that the Men in Blue might benefit from making the left-arm spinner roll his arm over more often.
In the second Test, Axar bowled 12 overs in the first innings, almost comparable to the workload of pacers Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj. Those overs didn't yield a wicket, and he saw his role reduced even further in the second essay (one over for two runs).
Axar has picked up 40 wickets in eight home Tests at an average of 13.88, and India need to believe in his ability to replicate those performances to a certain extent. Instead of using him as the fifth stop-gap bowler, he can be introduced earlier in the attack and encouraged to make a Jadeja-esque impact.
#2 Masterstroke - India shuffled their batters around smartly
In the first innings, India desperately needed to counter Australia's spin threat. Nathan Lyon was running through the top order and had the star of the first Test, young Todd Murphy, for company.
They subsequently sent Shreyas Iyer in at No. 5 to counter the senior off-spinner and pushed Ravindra Jadeja one step down the order.
At the fall of Virat Kohli's wicket, with the score reading 135/6, Rohit and Co. decided to maintain a left-right combination in the middle. Matthew Kuhnemann was notably in the middle of an accurate spell.
Axar Patel was then promoted ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin, and the southpaw took on the Aussie left-arm spinner with ablomb. He struck nine fours and three sixes, putting together a match-defining 114-run partnership with Ashwin to take the hosts close to the visitors' first-innings total.
#1 Mistake - India's batters weren't proactive enough in the first innings
India were revived by Axar-Ashwin's rearguard action in the first innings, but before that, their batters weren't proactive against the turning ball.
Lyon, Murphy and Kuhnemann were allowed to settle into their rhythm, with the veteran offie dismissing four of the hosts' top six batters. The top six combined to hit just 10 fours and a six, with none of them showing the aggressive intent that was on display in the second innings.
With India set a total of 115 on Day 3, Rohit Sharma set the tone with a fiery cameo before the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli tried to force the pace too. That's something that should've happened on the second day.
Instead, they tried to be overly defensive against the Aussie spin trio and suffered the consequences of their approach.