By Gaurang
January 11 2015

Australia won back the Border-Gavaskar trophy with a 2-0 series win against India at home, the same series result as the last time India visited.  However that is where the similarity with the previous "Agnipath" or as many Indian fans quickly dubbed "Agony-path" series ends.  Last time India got hammered in every single Test losing 0-4 and mostly with a day or more to spare.  This time India were in with a chance in all four games and they competed well, especially in the games that were led by the new Indian captain Virat Kohli.

Kohli captained in the first and last test of the series in Adelaide and Sydney respectively, while Dhoni led in Brisbane and Melbourne.  Both lost one match and drew the other.  But that is where the similarity in their captaincy ended.  Kohli lost the toss and was asked to bowl in both matches he led.  Australia got first use of featherbed wickets that were at their absolute flattest in both matches.  In both matches his side was far behind the game by the end of the first day.  However under Kohli the Indian team fought ferociously taking the fight to the Austrailians right to the end, despite getting the worst of the bowling and batting conditions, i.e. flat decks to bowl on, and wearing decks with uneven bounce, substantial spin, and conditions conducive to reverse swing when batting.  His personal contribution was immense, two hundreds in Adelaide and a big hundred and a near fifty in Sydney

In the case of Dhoni his team was in commanding position on the first day of both matches he led.  But then the team squandered it's position of strength in a display of insipid and sometimes down right disinterested cricket.  In fact Dhoni personally contributed to the demise of the side in both Tests.  In Brisbane he failed to consolidate in the first innings and was dismissed for a first ball duck in the second when India were trying to save the match.  In Melbourne again he failed to stem the tide of quick wickets after the back to back dismissal of Kohli and Rahane who added nearly 300 runs.  In fact in the Tests led by Dhoni India squandered positions of strength with Dhoni personally contributing to the collapses, resulting in a meek surrender in four days in Brisbane.  In Melbourne the team just about eked out a draw.  But even that draw could be creditd to the aggression and fight shown by India under Kohli in Adelaide.  Steve Smith the Australian captain admitted that he delayed his decision to declare, due to what India had shown they could do in Adelaide chasing down a total. 

That Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been disintrested in Test cricket for quite a while now has been an open seceret.  And one cannot completely blame him.  He has shouldered a very heavy burden of leading and wicket keeping in all three formats of the game, as well as captain and keeper of the IPL's Chennai Super Kings.  He has visibily aged and though still a relatively young man in his mid thirties looks like someone a decade older with his pre-maturely thinning and greying hair, which once was full and without a speck of grey.  Dhoni has many qualities, not the least of which was a icy calm demeanor, a brilliant ability to finish games under high pressure, especially in the limited overs formats of the game where the danger comes not from the wicket or swing but from mental gremlins that batsmen confront when asked to score at a very high rate.  He also had tremendous street smarts, situational awareness and personal courage.  However he did seem to rely heavily on the coach and seniors for the strategic and non-formulaic thinking required for Test matches, especially Test matches overseas.  He also was not as good a judge of cricketing talent, especially bowling talent, as his predecessor Sourav Ganguly was, and under him India regressed a lot in the Test bowling department.  That he also inisited that India did not need the services of a proven bowling coach like a Venkatesh Prasad, but rather was happy to go with whoever the main coach wanted, was surprising, especially as he was the one person who would have watched every bowler at close quarters from behind the stump...and would have noticed the regression in the bowling, especially as a unit, that Indian bowlers were experiencing.

Kohli has already identified bowling as the area where India need to focus if they are to once again start winning Tests, and even Test series overseas like they did under Ganguly and later Dravid.  With that in mind it would be great to see Venkatesh Prasad back as India's bowling coach, or maybe someone of the Calibre of Anil Kumble as a bowling mentor for the side by the time India next play Test cricket overseas.   India's batting, it seems has adjusted nicely to overseas conditions.  All the key Indian players, Kohli himself, Vijay and Rahane, have scored more centuries overseas than in India.  With young Rahul also scoring a century overseas, and with guys like Dhawan, Pujara, and others around the Indian batting looks well settled. 

As Ravi Shastri the new team manager said just a few days ago, the team and Kohli needs to be given 12 months for a fair assessment.  However with the bar set so low by Dhoni, especially in terms of wins and losses in overseas Tests, one is confident that there is nowhere but up for the Indian Test team to go, especially overseas.  True fans of Indian Test cricket will be more than happy that from now on Captain Kohli is in charge.

Captain Kohli In Charge

Discussion started by Indian Cricket Fever (IP Logged), 11/01/2015 05:00

Indian Cricket Fever
11/01/2015 05:00

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015:02:20:17:46:21 by Birbal.

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Meet_New_Mr_India
12/01/2015 18:39

Every one including past and present cricketers know the issue is with bowling.. Let's see if the administrator take any action to resolve this. Dravid and Kumble have been voicing their concerns but seems like it is falling on deaf ears..

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Birbal
13/01/2015 00:19

Bowling is hard work...especially fast bowling...bowlers need to be rotated and rested... but in a well managed way...with a Manager who understands the psychology of each individual and the psyche of the unit as a whole.

Ideally would have a unit of 7-8 bowlers... out which only 3 or so play in any one game... The 7-8 can be changed by 1-2 bowlers every year depending on form, fitness and age... They all should be given Grade B or A contracts...and made to feel that they are not going to be discarded in a blink of an eye if they happen to pick up a niggle or even a substantial injury...

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Birbal
13/01/2015 00:21

My current Test unit would be:

Ishant, Shami, Yadav, Bhuvi, Aaron, Pandey, and a couple of left arm quicks... we need more variety...

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Imran520
02/02/2015 08:09

Virat kohli is the best captain for Indian team and he should be selected for worldcup 2015.

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Birbal
02/02/2015 23:16

Quote:

Birbal
My current Test unit would be:
Ishant, Shami, Yadav, Bhuvi, Aaron, Pandey, and a couple of left arm quicks... we need more variety...

Irfan Pathan is still realitively young.. around 30... so he could be one of the left arm quicks in the squad... besides him no one really jumps to mind.

However I do like what I saw of Mohit Sharma recently and Shardul Thakur is doing well for Mumbai so maybe he should be in the mix too

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