3 top lessons for India after big loss in 2nd BGT 2024-25 Test ft. protecting Virat Kohli & Rohit Sharma
There's only so much one Jasprit Bumrah and one Rishabh Pant can do for India's men Test team. Bumrah almost single-handedly set-up the win in Perth with the ball, and had Pant to thank for allowing him enough time do so.
The duo tried the same in Adelaide but found no support whatsoever, just because the conditions weren't as favorable as Perth, and India were walloped by a margin of 10 wickets. A third pillar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, stood up too, like he did in Perth, but it only added to the embarrassment given how he was playing only his second ever Test.
India will now go to the Gabba and their fans would hope that they go there without any ghamand or cockiness of the previous win. Because unlike 2021, the Australian bowlers aren't exhausted and Pant, Bumrah and Reddy are due a failure or two.
Below, we have listed three lessons that India can learn from the loss to correct the course, before it's too late:
#3 Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy don't work for the team together
India probably made a mistake by choosing not to play Akash Deep in the Test and instead sticking with Harshit Rana, who bowled quite well in Perth and took four wickets in the pink-ball warm-up game before Adelaide. This view might seem hindsighted but many observers, among those on Sportskeeda's live commentary feed had felt, even right after Perth, that Akash deserved the chance in Adelaide.
It wasn't just his skiddy technique that was missed but also control and stamina. Harshit was quite loose against Travis Head which helped the aggressive Aussie immensely in his 140-run knock and with Mohammed Siraj also looking off-color with the first new ball, India leaned entirely on Bumrah.
Akash could have been a handful against the many host left-handers but, more importantly, would have eased the burden of discipline and run-stopping from Bumrah. Harshit's lack of wickets made India turn to Reddy more than they'd have liked and although he picked up a wicket, the pressure was never sustained on his end.
It seemed like India hoped that Harshit and Reddy could together perform the third seamer's role with Ravichandran Ashwin as the support. However, like Australia showed with Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, going with three high quality frontline pace options was the better idea with the pink ball as discipline was the most important skill required to control it and dominate.
Moving on, India will need to see Reddy and Harshit as the fourth pace option instead of third. The former's batting ability should give the team confidence to sacrifice a smidget of depth for a better bowling attack at the Gabba.
India might consider Harshit as the better choice than Akash for Gabba because the pitch might offer pace and Harshit could utilise it like Perth. Still, they should to consider going to Akash for the next two Tests, despite how the Delhi pacer performs.
#2 Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma need to be protected
It's a damning situation for India that two of their senior-most batters, who used to love playing against Australia, have been reduced to easy wickets for the opposition. With their slower movements and lack of confidence and adaptability, India need to consider if playing them is helping the team.
However, a decision that'll even consider dropping either of them mid-tour doesn't seem likely. So what's the next best thing? KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill will have to realize that Kohli and Rohit will need to be protected from the new ball as much as possible.
Kohli scored his century in Perth in the easiest conditions seen in this series so far, which were given to him by a big opening stand. Skipper Rohit has shifted to the middle-order and how he played against the swinging pink-ball suggested that he'd need the same help to even get his eye in.
It's avoidable pressure but the top-three can't help but to take one for the team, play fewer shots, take fewer risks, and blunt the new ball as much as possible. With the old cherry and Nathan Lyon operating from one end, India would probably be able to get the best out of Kohli and Rohit.
There was a time when India relied so heavily on Rohit and Kohli that only others copped most of the questions. Now the two legends are relied on their juniors in their hopes to show any semblance to their vintage forms.
#1 Strategies will need to be checked session-by-session
It wasn't that India's plans for Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan McSweeney and then Head didn't work. The problem was when they didn't work for hours and sessions, there was hardly an attempt to change and try something new to push for a wicket.
India bowled Head just five bouncers in his innings after more than 100 deliveries, despite learning that lesson at the Oval in the World Test Championship Final in 2023. Although the square boundaries in Adelaide were smaller and the tactic was risky, it was worth an attempt between all the half-volleys which were never going to work.
Similarly, against Labuschagne and McSweeney, it took India the entire day break to realise that the lengths they were bowling were easy to leave. Strategies change every over in the IPL through data analysts who help out teams from the dug-out -- it's tough to understand why India couldn't realise it sooner that they needed to bowl full.
In comparison, Australia made a similar change quite early after the Rahul-Gill partnership and reaped the rewards. Rohit's captaincy and field changes have been rightly questioned over recent months, but India's lack of a second plan -- which is easy enough for Harshit and Siraj to execute -- for most Aussie batters has been baffling to see.
It's in contrast to the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under where Ajinkya Rahane's team used to come out with a variety of tricks up their sleeves. If a batter still scores at the Gabba and beyond, then so be it, but India need to proactively test them with all they've got, instead of doing the same thing and expecting different results.