5 things Australia needs to do right to win 1st BGT 2024-25 in PerthÂ
India are weak coming into the 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, aren't they?
They don't have their captain, Rohit Sharma, for the first Test in Perth. His opening partner and breakout start in the 2021-22 edition, who is the current number three, Shubman Gill is also injured. That makes it two of the best players of the short ball in the team absent for perhaps the bounciest track of the series.
The brilliant Mohammed Shami won't be there too. Like in the batting department, it'll likely leave stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah with at least two bowlers who have never bowled in a Test down under. This is in complete contrast to Australia's written-in-stone bowling attack, who now have decent backups behind them.
But India were injury-ridden and slightly inexperienced in 2018-19 and 2021-22 as well and that didn't stop them from keeping hold of the trophy. Pat Cummins would be the last man on Earth to see the visitors with even a smidget of haughtiness.
Below are five things that he and his team can try to assure to put maximum pressure on India and increase their chances of winning the first Test:
#5 Use Ashwin's slow starts + lack of batting depth to their advantage
If reports in the Indian media are to be believed, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will beat Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar in starting as the lone spinner. It gives Australia two clear weaknesses to exploit, while batting and bowling.
For one, Ashwin has become a slow starter recently. He has added skills, is much smarter than before but now needs time to allign his body's rhyhtm with his mind.
These slow starts were most recently visible against New Zealand where he took just one wicket in the Bengaluru Test and got much more threatening in the next. More than over a series, these are visible during Tests too.
Ashwin will come to Australia with a big point to prove. He was brilliant on the last tour as well, taking four wickets in his first innings in Adelaide, before injury cut short his series to just two games. But he has never played a test in Perth.
He knows how to bowl over-spin, which is using the bounce of the ball on tracks like Perth, but hasn't been able to match Nathan Lyon on it yet.
Then, if the pitch doesn't offer help on the first few days and he comes into the attack with the old ball after India have used up all their seam options, there would be a window for the Aussies to take him on. Doing that early would dent Ashwin's confidence and gain them runs for this Test and the upper hand for the rest.
Moreover, if Ashwin plays, it'll probably be alongside four seamers and come at the cost of a batter or all-rounders like Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, who are much better batters for Australian conditions. This means India's batting depth won't be at its best -- a massive issue considering the absence of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill.
India's top and middle-order would be under immense pressure to play big knocks, giving Australia the chance to cut their scoring and dominate.
#4 Don't let the fourth seamer settle
Again, as per reports, Nitish Kumar Reddy is being seen as a debutant fourth seamer. That could be a golden opportunity for Australia. Fourth seamers have never quite worked well for India in Perth and Reddy, who has only 56 wickets to his name in first-class cricket, would be a massive gamble.
Reddy isn't any 22-year-old. He has won/saved big games for Andhra Pardesh in the Ranji Trophy and his numbers don't show that. However, he's a swing bowler and will need quite specific conditions to succeed in Perth, i.e. a green pitch, India bowling first, maybe even overseas skies and Bumrah trusting him with the new ball.
The selection has a huge upside for India but if all those conditions aren't met, Australia can potentially render India a bowler short by attacking Reddy early. The likes of Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne should enjoy his bowling and won't mind the attacking opportunities that he'll bring.
If India play him, they also won't be able to hide him because without Ishant Sharma, India don't have a workhorse pacer to hold one end with long spells, and wouldn't want to risk any of Bumrah, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj's fitness for it in the first Test of a long series.
Even the option to ease pressure against one bowler is a big chink in the Indian armor, which Australia can exploit with some patience and a bit of planning.
#3 Don't hold back Lyon
This would something that Australia would already know and not doing it would come under a "basic error" for Cummins. But it's such a crucial thing that it deserves a mention here.
Many visiting teams come to Perth and get carried away by the help available for pacers. However, arguably Australia's biggest threat in this Test will be off-spinner Lyon, who was also the Player of the Match with eight wickets the last time India and Australia played at the Perth Stadium.
If Australia bowl first, Cummins might feel tempted to rotate the three seamers and Mitchell Marsh till the ball gets old and then introduce Lyon. However, there's a big case to be made for Lyon to come as soon as first-change and challenge Indian batters with the hard ball that bounces nicely.
Lyon has a brilliant average of 18 at the Perth Stadium, which is his best for any Australian ground and India are probably at an all-time low in confidence against spin plus without Cheteshwar Pujara, who tackled the offie brilliantly in the last two series.
India would want to exploit Australia's fourth bowler weakness and take on Lyon but for now, that strategy is heavily dependent on Rishabh Pant. Lyon would be fresh, Australia should use him as much as possible in this series and ask India the questions that they are likely to have fewer answers for.
#2 Survive Bumrah
There are broadly three ways to tackle a bowler: attack, defend, play on the merit and keep that decision to the last moment. Whatever the strategy Australia choose to play against Bumrah, it should have its roots in survival.
Even for the likes of Smith, Labuschagne and Travis Head, there would need to be an understanding of not having an ego against Bumrah. It's not just about respecting a bowler who's at the peak of his powers, but realising how much India rely on him.
If Bumrah is somehow neutralized and not given as many wickets as India expect from him, or is forced to bowl more than he should, the hosts will gain a mammoth advantage. Siraj, Akash, and even the spinners would look at Bumrah to inspire them with his first and second spells.
At Perth, he's also the captain. A wicketless spell would break India's back early on and their margin of error would be minimized.
#1 Don't challenge India emotionally
This is outside tactics, but still important. There have been comments from former Australian players asking their team to poke India, and especially Kohli. But Cummins should know much better than that.
Over the years, Australia have realised the importance of not engaging Kohli and which has been seen in his dropping numbers too. However, it's important for them to keep it a purely skill-based game.
In the last series here, Tim Paine enraged the Indians with his thematics, and challenged the underdog in them which then came through in Sydney and the Gabba even more then Melbourne.
It's important for Australia to keep the giant sleeping, not engage in any sledging or taunting that'll give the visitors an extra purpose or something to fight a war for, because then they'll perform better than their abilities.
Australia have the emotional advantage via their search for vergence while India are in a mushy spot where they'd love to make it three series in a row but don't have any momentum behind them.
A quiter game, close to the tune of the 2023 World Cup final, with no mindgames with any players would let Australia control their emotions, make fewer mistakes as the home team and dominate.