Ready for a close encounter of the third kind?
As cricket moves to Brisbane with the teams level, there is a certain sense of the series reaching a tipping point
Brisbane: In boxing, it usually takes a round or two to figure your opponent out — only after that does the bout truly begins. It’s the same in tennis — at the Grand Slam level — the first two sets against a strong opponent are just about whetting the appetite, the real stuff comes in the third, fourth and fifth sets. And in a way, cricket in a five-Test series is no different.
The first two Tests of the Border Gavaskar Trophy were the sides exchanging blows, feeling each other out, seeing what they had each prepared for the series. The first blow was landed by Jasprit Bumrah and India in Perth. The second by Travis Head and Mitchell Starc at Adelaide. And now, as the cricket moves to Brisbane, there is a certain sense of the series reaching a tipping point. This is perhaps where one of the teams might gain a psychological advantage; this is where they might pull away.
“I think a couple of key moments can really compound matters and make the game look further apart than perhaps they were,” said Australia skipper Pat Cummins on Friday. “We spoke about that… in the first Test, if we had got through the first evening, maybe the sun’s out and we have a few more wickets and maybe we could have had a first innings lead. It’s be the same in Adelaide. Nathan and Marnus got through the first evening and Trav (Travis Head) and a few cashed in the next day… that really compounds it. But I think the margins (of victories) can throw you off a bit.”
The conditions will play a big role in how the match eventually plays out but in a five-match Test series, there is no hiding place and the players prepare as such.
“That’s the beauty of playing a long series and playing a Test series, there might be a scenario where a bowler might be getting you out 3 or 4 times in the series, and to be able to play the same bowler again in the next Test match, you know certain areas where you are a little vulnerable or where you can get out as a batsman, but I think that’s the fun about playing a long series, playing a long Test series,” said India’s No.3 Shubman Gill on the eve of the third Test.
The few things that have been theorised while getting ready for the series have been tried out and there have been a few flashpoints as well. But India and Australia keep clashing all the time, all over the world. The research needed is of a different kind and often it goes beyond the just skill.
“I think even before the start of the series, we have played against them enough,” said Gill. “Their Test side, I think, for the past 5-6 years hasn’t changed much, but they also know what are the areas that we are going to target, so I think even before coming here, both teams knew what would be the challenges, and like I said that’s the fun part about being able to play a good long series because there is more than the skill, there is a lot more mental tactics involved here.”
The mental tactics Gill is referring to are why we saw Virat Kohli trying to get into the mode where he could attain the discipline to leave the ball around the 4th and 5th stump line. At the start of the series, Josh Hazlewood had said that targeting the top of the off-stump always works against the ex-India skipper and he wasn’t wrong. They have managed to draw the right-hander into false shot.
Now, Kohli has a chance to respond and make the changes that might work. The same is true of a Travis Head. If India gets him early, then it becomes a different ball game. But how do they do that and has Head, himself, changed or added something to his game? A one-off match doesn’t even permit such a though.
The first innings is always vital in Brisbane because that is when the collapses usually happen. But locals feel that even though there will be some bounce, there should be runs in the wicket as well. The wicket tends to get better as the match goes on but to get to that point with an advantage will be vital. There may also be some rain around on at least the first day and it might make things a little tricky.
The Aussies, already hurt after losing their last two series against India at home, are hurting and Cummins would like to do nothing more than get things back on track here.
“I think there is definitely pride in winning in Australia,” said Cummins. “These are our home conditions; conditions we grew up playing in. The hardest thing in cricket is winning a series away from home, so to make the world championship final, you have to win everything at home and some of those overseas when you can. So, we go into every home series, expecting to win. That’s what we grew up watching and that is how we set ourselves up.”
One might not be able to predict how the game will eventually pan out but it is pretty clear neither team is going to take a backward step. These two teams are all about winning and the Gabba is where things are about to start getting real.
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