{ "id": "6238", "author": "13", "cnmid": "0", "title": "Indians lack nuanced skills of Test cricket", "lang": "en", "series": "0", "cup_year": "2000", "article_type": "Spacial", "excerpt": "A debate is raging whether India\u2019s young skipper Virat Kohli should have shared the Man of the Series award Down", "subtype": "", "editor1": "

A debate is raging whether India’s young skipper Virat Kohli should have shared the Man of the Series award Down Under with his Australian counterpart Steven Smith at the end of the four-match Test series.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

2nd ODI - New Zealand v Sri Lanka<\/a>
\r\nAnother point being discussed is why India keep failing overseas even after the batsmen give them 400-plus scores in the first innings as they have done in all the four Tests. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Former India captain Nari Contractor 50 years ago made an insightful observation that anyone scoring big runs against Bombay in the Ranji Trophy has to be a really good batsman considering their bowling strength.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Those were the years when the Bombay (now Mumbai) players claimed that it was easier to get into the India team than find a place in their Ranji Trophy side. Contractor, representing Gujarat, scored heavily in a zone in which Bombay was also a part and he got into the India team after scoring a century against the strongest side in domestic cricket.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

The measure is the same for bowlers, too. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

If the same yardstick is applied, Virat Kohli's four tons and 692 runs at an average of 86.50 may be statistics-wise a tad inferior to Steven Smith's 769 runs, also with four centuries at an average of 128.16 -- but then see the vast difference in the bowling attacks of the two sides.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Kohli faced Mitchell Johnson, rated world's best pace bowler, in the first three Tests in which he scored three hundreds. Even off-spinner Nathan Lyon looked exceptionally good with his deceptive flight and turn on the bouncy pitches.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

New lad Josh Hazlewood also seemed to have learnt the tricks of the trade quickly, bowling a perfect line and length consistently to keep the Indian batsmen on a tight leash.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

If only the Indian bowlers had showed some discipline, the series would have at least been drawn -- if not gone India's way.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

For sheer quality of batsmanship, Kohli's fabulous hundreds should be rated a notch or two above Smith's incredible sequence of scores in the series. The one big difference between the performances of the two is that Smith's hundreds won matches for Australia whereas India's bowlers could not help Kohli win or square the series, even though the batsmen came close to delivering twice.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

In the first Test in Adelaide, the Indians batted in the second innings as if there were only two results in Test cricket -- victory or defeat -- whereas in the Sydney Test they realised that they could even draw when they are not in a position to win or in danger of losing.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

What's wrong with the team? <\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Simply, the lack of understanding of the nuanced skills of Test match cricket. In adverse situations, they seem to lose their way and did not know how to get back on track. They waited for the opposition to make mistakes, be it batting or bowling, instead of being proactive. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n