Border-Gavaskar trophy - The battles and opportunities

The current holders of the Border Gavaskar Trophy

England’s return series led to yet another failure for Team India. Now it’s time for Australia’s return series where the Border-Gavaskar trophy will be up for grabs again.

After being whitewashed in Australia in early 2012, India will be looking to avenge the defeat on home territory. Without Hussey and Ponting in Australia’s ranks, they will be fancying their chances. But as has been the case in recent times, one never knows what might happen with the unpredictable Indian team.

The last time Australia came to the Indian shores in 2010 for a 2-Test series, they were ‘whitewashed’, as Sehwag would put it. That Indian team was then the No.1 ranked Test team. It had players who were performing consistently and were at the peak of their prowess. Things are significantly different now. Retirements, drastic loss of form and an incompetent selection committee has led to a completely different looking Indian team. The Australian team too has a very different look to it than what it was 3 years ago.

India and Australia have always given us some delightful and feisty encounters (Barring the aberration of 2012). This should be no different. Here are a few things to look forward to in the series:

Australian batsmen vs Indian spin: As has always been the case with touring teams, this could well be the deciding factor in this series for Australia – their (in)ability to play spin. Barring Michael Clarke and Shane Watson to an extent, none of the Aussie batsmen have looked comfortable against spin. India have Ashwin, Ojha and Jadeja who are certainties for the first Test, and they also have Harbhajan waiting in the wings who has always brought his A-game against the Australians.

Will the spin twins be too much for the Aussies?

The tour game against India-A gave the Aussies a taste of what’s in store, as they were forced to follow-on after collapsing to the spin of Jalaj Saxena and Rakesh Dhurv. The Tests against India will give them a much stiffer challenge. Australia’s success in the batting department will be heavily dependent on Michael Clarke’s form.

Indian batsmen vs Aussie pacers: Australia’s success in the Test arena off late has been a by-product of Michael Clarke’s brilliance and their quicks. Australia has tried more than 10 quicks over the past year, and each one of them has delivered. They are quite brittle and are known to break down rather easily, but no one can take their effectiveness away from them.

The Lion Hearted Siddle will be key to Australia’s fortunes.

This tour will be their first test in subcontinent conditions as a collective unit. The pace battery consists of James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Johnson, Jackson Bird and Mitchell Starc. Only Siddle and Johnson have experience of bowling in Indian conditions before. Knowing Australia’s rotation policy, all five will get game time in the series. The Indian batsmen have generally been susceptible to quality pace bowling and Australia will be looking to capitalise on that.

Change of guard at the top for India?: After 2 years of non-performance, the axe has finally been wielded on Gautam Gambhir. India have picked Murali Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan as the openers, to partner Sehwag. Gambhir responded to the snub with his first century in nearly 3 years, in India A’s match against Australia.

Murali Vijay at present seems to be the safer bet to partner Sehwag in the first Test. He also played in the 2010 series against Australia and did a reasonable job. Will we see Gambhir coming back into the team if Vijay/Dhawan fail, or is the change a long-term one?

Can Lyon-Doherty do a Monty-Swann?: Panesar and Swann out-bowling Ojha and Ashwin was the primary reason for India’s loss to England in the recently concluded series. Australia have Lyon and Doherty taking care of the spin duties, with Maxwell and Steve Smith as the spinning all-rounders. Are they good enough to be able to catch the Indian batsmen unaware?

Despite their decent record, Lyon and Doherty will struggle to make a difference in this series. They were given a taste of what is to come against India-A, as they were dealt with quite comfortably. There were rumours of Australia planning to go with 2 spinners and 2 quicks. But they have chosen to go with 3 seamers and Moises Henriques, with Lyon as the lone spinner. It’s a much better selection because to answer the above question, Lyon and Doherty cannot be as good as Monty and Swann.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli: At the risk of sounding like a broken record, these two will be the lynchpins of Indian batting in years to come. Pujara was phenomenal in the England series and will continue to be the anchor for Indian batting. Kohli had an indifferent series against England, but his talent is unquestionable. It’s the temperament which needs a bit of tweaking.

Can they deliver?

With a new opening pair and uncertain No. 4 and 6, Kohli and Pujara need to come good against the Australians to save India from yet another embarrassment at home. They have the goods to do so; they just need to deliver.

MS Dhoni‘s Captaincy: MSD – the one player who will be under the most pressure this series. His credentials in Limited Overs cricket is unquestionable. He will probably be the first pick in a World ODI XI at the moment. But his performances in Test matches are debatable; specifically, his captaincy.

Dhoni is a one dimensional Test captain and tends to get ultra defensive quite often. He belongs to the ‘Don’t win, but don’t lose’ school of thought. This has not worked with top quality teams in the recent past. He had a good series with the bat against England, but in overseas conditions, he is almost certain be found wanting. A series loss here will almost certainly lead to him being axed as the captain of the Test team. Which would lead to the question, does Dhoni warrant a place in the team solely as a wicketkeeper batsman or will his position be in jeopardy? A series win will probably shut out these questions for the time being.

2 men under most pressure.

Sachin Tendulkar: Nearly 40 years old, 17 Test matches without a century, an average of 32 and struggling against pace; Sachin Tendulkar is arguably in the poorest form of his life. The less said about it, the better. And yes, Ajinkya Rahane is still waving his hand.

With 2 imperfect teams, this series should be a fascinating contest. India might have a slightly upper hand owing to home advantage and Australia’s inefficiency against spin. I will put my money on India winning it 2-1, Michael Clarke having yet another phenomenal series and Ojha to have his first Man of the Series award. And well, a legend, I repeat, might retire.