New Delhi: A ruthless Australia thrashed India by six wickets in the final 5th Test in Sydney to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years with a thumping 3-1 victory in the five-match series and knock India out of the race for the World Test Championship (WTC) final. If the humiliating clean sweep against New Zealand at home was not enough, Australia handed India another eye-opener Down Under.
While India lost the plot dramatically despite their fabulous start to the series with a thumping 295-run victory in the opener in Perth, Australia staged an incredible fightback as they came from behind to knock India off their perch and clinch the all-important series. Eyeing a second successive Test mace, Austalia will now meet South Africa in the WTC 2023-25 final at Lord’s this year.
India will return home empty-handed having missed out on making it to the final for the first time since the inception of the World Test Championship. The runners-up of the last two editions, India were once again the favourites to qualify for the summit clash but two back-to-back horrendous series defeats against New Zealand and Australia meant they were sent packing.
Having won their last two Test series in Australia and not dropped the Border-Gavaskar Trophy since 2015, India headed into the series with expectations high despite their underwhelming show against the Kiwis at home. There were hopes that the Australian conditions would better suit some of the key Indian batters, who preferred pace over spin.
But as the series unfolded, the Australian pacers took little time in exposing the frailties in India’s batting one after another. While the batters failed to deliver collectively, the bowling too was over-reliant on Jasprit Bumrah, who singlehandedly carried India’s pace attack in what was a memorable series for the Indian pacer until it cost him heavily in the end by costing him his back, yet again.
Transition beckons for India but seniors stand in way
The Indian team is already in a transition phase, steadily moving on from the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma among others. The transition kicked off under former head coach Rahul Dravid but despite the team management and the selectors taking some tough calls over the last couple of years, India still find themselves in a precarious position with few positive signs.
A proper overhaul and a streamlined transition is the need of the hour as the team heads into the new World Test Championship cycle. But standing in the way are some dusted senior pros, who are yet to signal that they are ready to make way for the young crop in the interest of the team.
Both skipper Rohit Sharma and senior batter Virat Kohli struggled for consistency throughout the series against Australia and did little to prove that they still warrant the backing of the team management as far as the longest format is concerned. While Kohli managed 191 runs at a dismal average of 23.75 in 5 Tests, Rohit was on 31 runs after three Tests before eventually facing the axe owing to his woeful form in the must-win 5th Test for India in Sydney.
Though many would want to take a nuanced view of their numbers in Australia, both Kohli and Rohit endured a difficult 2024 in Tests where they failed to meet expectations. While Kohli’s struggles with outside-off deliveries were exposed consistently by the Australian pacers, Rohit found it difficult to get back among the runs despite batting at the top and in the middle order across three Tests.
Both veterans had a forgettable tour and perhaps the time has come for the Indian think tank to look past them and build for the future with the new WTC cycle ahead. Even if Kohli and Rohit intend to continue, they should be held accountable and asked to prove their form in domestic cricket before being given a shot at redemption in the England series later this year which will be India’s first Test assignment in 2025.
Youngsters give India hope
The senior failed to turn up in the series but the youngsters gave India hope that the future of Indian cricket is in safe hands. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Nitish Kumar Reddy proved their mettle with the bat while Akash Deep showed a lot of promise with the ball despite the wicket-taking charts in the series not doing justice to his efforts.
After enjoying a stellar year, Jaiswal continued his fine form in Australia where he was arguably the most assuring Indian batter as he finished the series with 391 runs from 5 matches averaging over 43 with a daddy hundred in Perth and two brilliant half-centuries in the 4th Test in Melbourne.
Nitish didn’t contribute much with the ball but showcased he has the composure and the skills required to be a successful batting all-rounder for the team with his heroics in the series. The 21-year-old announced his arrival in Australia with a brilliant maiden Test ton in Melbourne but failed to replicate his heroics in the final Test in Syndey.
Nonetheless, he has a long way ahead of him and will have numerous chances to redeem himself and showcase his talent as his career progresses. India will hope to harness the potential of the talented youngsters they have in their ranks and groom them in the right way to get them ready for the next WTC cycle as they look to complete a successful transition in the longest format of the game.
Australia were ruthless and arguably the better of the two teams as they exposed India’s frailities to hand them a stark reality check with a 3-1 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. India’s woeful run in Test cricket has proen a proper transition in the team is the need of the hour. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
