Australia relieved India of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a 10-year-wait
Australia dominant in a 3-1 series win, sending India home with many questions to answer
Australian coach Andrew 'Ronnie' McDonald said the loss in Perth was merely a blip and Adelaide would be a different story. He was proven correct, of course. That said, Ronnie declined to project out to Melbourne and Sydney, and I am sure now that the dust has settled, he and his team are quietly content with what transpired—quietly might easily give way to 'smugness' or 'woke', but for now, it will do. Then there's still a Sri Lankan tour and the grand final with South Africa, which might afford his team a second World Test Championship. When will the doubters abate?
And what for India, as they come off consecutive series losses? New Zealand caught them off guard with a three-Test sweep; in their defence, perhaps they had more than one eye on a trio of series wins on Australian soil. Either way, they've been blown away in both series. India has one win, one draw, and six losses from their last eight Tests. The winds of change will cause more than a little turbulence as they fly back to Mumbai— a cold BCCI welcome awaits.
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Before critiquing the Border-Gavaskar trophy, it would be prudent to remind ourselves of the oblivion that Australia found itself in following the 295-run Perth pummelling. A void hastily built by an over-sensitive local media—the majority of the non-print media comprises immediate and not-so-long-past players, many harbouring agendas that do not allow them to acknowledge the current team as legitimate. They are as stupid as they are stubborn. For all the criticism of the Pat Cummins-McDonald approach and the shift in ideology from the previous coach, the 'wokeness' (so-called) and player power, the selection approach, etc., Australia now holds every trophy apart from WT20. It's hard to argue with that, but if you are so inclined, it's not. I suspect many like me find it hard to tolerate the self-approving approach the media takes and the lack of thought about how different strategies can arrive at the same result. "How dare they be as good as we were!"
This was a Test series played on Augusta fairways in front of Ryder Cup crowds on municipal greens. I read somewhere (not Twitter/X) that the "SCG curator should be toe-roped around his ground and then shot with a ball of his excrement." Presumably, the author had day four tickets!
The pitches: Perth was typical; tacky and bouncy early, it gained pace, the cracks became visible, and the bounce was increasingly variable. Adelaide was the best scripted, with a Mitchell Starc signature and a dash of Travis Head on the side. (Gamble responsibly, or don't do it at all; this was the wager of 2024: Australia to win—from memory (I lost the screenshot) $1.84. Start the car, Bumble. Brisbane fooled Rohit (he wasn't on his game, ever)—SKW would have been laughing from above. The Gabba and the MCG hold Gold and Silver—shame about those southeast Queensland summer storms! The MCG has turned the drop-in corner. This was comfortably the pitch of the series. And the SCG? Well, it was nothing more than a cabbage patch; a dead-duck wicket, that was best exploited by the home pacers.
The bowling: India never chose four frontline seamers. Neither did Australia—they never do—and still, they bowled the house down. Jasprit Bumrah was often too good; he's a vertical seam magician. Thankfully, for the rest, he seems to dis the 'wobble seam' theory. Still, evidence remains that the Indians bowl as singles rather than partnerships or trios. The series-breaker? It has to be Scott ‘Barrel’ Boland. Boland started the series Australia's fourth-choice seamer—and will likely remain that way in the view of the blue-cap-mafia. It matters little to him—he was the second-best bowler in the series after Bumrah. As Josh Hazlewood becomes less reliable (fitness), openings will present for the next generation of Australia's fast bowlers. Honourable mention must go to Mitch Starc—Adelaide must feel like home-away-from-home for the big lefty.
The batting: Along the lines of Australia's penchant for Protestant captains, in this series, if you batted in the top four and expected to succeed, it was akin to attending Xavier College with the expectation of captaining Australia. Silence ensued from both side's top fours—Steve Smith and Jaiswal apart. The new ball was mostly unplayable; it didn't matter how good you were. After 20 overs, batting got significantly more straightforward—you could have made a case for sending in late-order fluffers. Usman Khawaja seemed unsure throughout, his footwork rarely connected with his arm-swing. Nathan McSweeney/Sam Konstas did OK. KL Rahul showed sound technique and resilience in Perth. Kohli was ineffective and, to Australia's advantage, became an irritating distraction to the Indian cause. I have no comment on Marnus, although he played a wonderful 'short draw-swing compress' wide of mid-on in Sydney. Rohit was late to the party and early to leave. With 448 runs (56.00) and two hundreds, Travis Head was the standout batter—albeit batting five. Hundreds: Australia four (Smith 2, Head 2). India three (Jaiswal, Reddy, and Kohli).
The captains: It's weird, but Pat Cummins had never won the Border Gavaskar trophy—it's 10 years since Australia had possession. A decade of losing to India has been a blight on senior players' resumes. Captains, I believe there were four—Pat, Jaspirit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, and whoever told Prasidh Krishna to spray it all over the oche day three morning. Cummins held his nerve and balanced the 'ball and conductor' thing to perfection—he's making the impossible look increasingly easy. Bumrah was game and will likely get a go in a more permanent role soon. At least Rohit was somewhat animated in the huddles. For him, though, poor form killed whatever spark he had—and a mistake not opening in Adelaide. We can attribute the fourth person to Virat Kohli, so why not? He needs some recognition.
The coaches: this space now promotes elite management over in-game coaching acumen. Looking holistically at the preparation and the five Tests, the winner is clearly Andrew McDonald and his team. At the very least, the McDonald camp stood by their lead-in and how they had their players present without getting too deep. In comparison, if he had one, Gautam Gambhir and his team gave nothing and stood for nothing. Gambhir is a polarising figure who seems primarily responsible for the disunity in the Indian camp. To quote Gambhir—he rolls this out at every opportunity—"Let's not beat around the bush, let's talk straight." The straight is that Gambhir selected close to their best XI for the conditions once—in Perth. The rest, they guessed and failed. Sorry for the straightness!
In summary: I ran into Australian coach Andrew McDonald at Geelong CC training between the first and second Tests. Ronnie was adamant that Perth was just a frustrating blip. Our conversation will remain there. However, Ronnie argued a solid case for the loss being just that—a loss. "It happens?" "Critical junctures went south badly." Realistically, Australia lost the opportunity to bat on Day Two when the surface was at its best. The top order failed miserably. Nathan Lyon bowled without scoreboard pressure and was mainly ineffective. Captain Pat Cummins had his worst Test for some time—which multiplied ten-fold by his decision to watch a concert over playing for Australia—the decision not to play might not have been his to make. However, Pat would have been better served staying home for Sunday dinner. Four games on, all is forgotten, and Cummins/McDonald adds another trophy to their collection.
Andrew McDonald is an astute operator in this space and is very much a player's coach, not one to bow to media pressure. He remains hungry and eager to add to his knowledge base. I believe the same cannot be said for his Indian counterpart.
This really was a blink-and-you-miss-it series.
Brilliant Nick 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏