Lower order, high returns for India

Jadeja, Axar and Ashwin have haven’t just dominated the wickets column, their batting is turning Tests around as the series against Australia has again showed

Ninety-one minutes. That’s all it took for Australia to capitulate at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground on Sunday. They lost their last nine wickets for 48 runs to be bowled out for 113 in the second innings, making India's victory on Day 3 of the second Test an inevitable outcome.

Ravichandran Ashwin, right, and Axar Patel, talk to each other during the second day of the second cricket test match between India and Australia in New Delhi.(AP)

Looking back at the entirety of the second Test though, it was a partnership of 114 runs between Axar Patel and R Ashwin for the eighth wicket on Saturday afternoon that proved the turning point. Staring down the barrel at 139/7 with a deficit of 124 runs, the two lower-order batters sparked an excellent revival that limited Australia’s lead to one run.

It was a similar story in the first Test in Nagpur. While India were not in danger of falling behind in the first innings, they were 240/7 with a lead of 63 runs when Ravindra Jadeja and Axar came together. By stitching together a stand of 88 runs, they pretty much batted the visitors out of the game.

Axar wasn’t done though. Partnerships of 52 and 20 with Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj respectively meant they built a first-innings lead of 223 runs. Even if Australia put up a better show than being 91 all out in their second innings, it is unlikely they would have averted an innings defeat.

“The Indian lower-order has probably made the difference in both games,” Australia skipper Pat Cummins told a media conference after their six-wicket loss in Delhi. “Again, I thought they batted really well. They are guys who have scored Test hundreds and bat really well. Our plans were pretty sound most of the time. Unfortunately, they were able to build a partnership again. It felt like if you got in, it was going to get easier. It’s something to look at. The small margins in both games have ended up making a pretty big difference.”

Over the past couple of years in particular, there have been quite a few instances of India’s lower-order bailing the team out of a hole. The most telling example is the 123-run partnership between Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar for the seventh wicket at the Gabba in Brisbane, enabling India to become the first team to breach Australia’s fortress in more than three decades.

The lower-order was no less significant in India’s two victories in England in 2021. At Lord’s, Shami and Jasprit Bumrah added 89 runs for the ninth wicket in India’s first innings while Thakur, Bumrah and Umesh Yadav contributed 109 runs between them in the victory at the Oval.

The numbers bear testimony. Since 2021, India have had nine fifty-plus partnerships for the seventh wicket or lower. Only England, with 11 such partnerships, fare better.

The corresponding numbers at home are even more emphatically tilted in India’s favour. With 13 fifty-plus stands for the seventh wicket or lower at home since 2021, India are far ahead of England and Pakistan, who are joint second with eight each.

For this superiority at home, they primarily owe Jadeja, Ashwin and Axar a ton of gratitude. Jadeja is perhaps good enough to bat at No 6 in India, where he averages 41.97 after 51 innings. Ashwin has rediscovered his batting form after it had tapered off in between. After averaging under 15 in 2019 and 2020, his average since 2021 is back over 25. His most recent notable contribution came against Bangladesh in December when he made an unbeaten 42 at No 9 to help India recover from 74/7 to chase down a tricky target of 145.

Axar has probably made the biggest impact with the bat in this series so far with half-centuries in both his innings giving him a tally of 158 runs at an average of 79. Only India skipper Rohit Sharma – he has 183 runs from three innings – has scored more.

Sharma couldn’t be more pleased. “It is a big plus to have your batting go as deep as possible. It is something we have been trying to get for so many years. We wanted batting depth. Luckily, in these three guys, we have that,” he told reporters.

“It gives you an advantage. When the bowlers are tired after 60-70 overs, these guys come in and play some shots as well. All these guys are talented and they can take on the bowlers. That gives you an opportunity to put the pressure back. As we have seen during this series, they can bat quite well actually. It will hold us in good stead moving forward, especially in these conditions. Because of the pitches we are playing on, you need your batting line-up to be as long as possible,” Sharma said.