5 things India must do to make a comeback in the series
In the recently concluded first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia humbled India by 333 runs. Going by India’s form this home season and the dustbowl that was on display at the MCA stadium, India were billed the pre-match favourites. However, in a game that lasted a little less than 3 days, the Australians outdid their Indian counterparts in every department of the game.
More than the defeat, it was the manner of the defeat that has raised several questions. Going into the second Test of this 4-match series, Australia have surely managed to wrestle the momentum away from India.
With the Bengaluru Test only a few days away, we take a look at the five things that India must do to make a comeback in this series:
#1 Get a solid opening partnership
There is no doubt that both KL Rahul and Murali Vijay are excellent batsmen. However, the duo have not quite hit the ground running as India’s opening pair. In 13 innings together, the two right-handers have aggregated a mere 259 runs at a paltry average of 19.92.
In fact, there’s been only one instance when the two have managed to share an opening alliance of more than 50.
The failure of the Rahul-Vijay duo has meant that the rest of the Indian batsmen have been left with a lot to do. While the Indian batting did come out trumps in the games against New Zealand and England, Australia is a completely different ball game given the potency and the variety of their attack.
It would do the Indian team a world of good if these two could start stitching some big partnerships at the top of the order.