Ahmedabad’s new cricket stadium, the world’s largest, promises to offer an unforgettable way to cap off the captivating Border-Gavaskar series. India’s prime minister and Australia’s prime minister will be in attendance alongside a raucous Indian crowd cheering on their team; however, the magnitude of cricket on show is likely to be the main event. For India, this Test match is paramount if they are to remain in contention for the World Test Championship finals, while a victory for Australia would prove more than just restoring bilateral pride – it could throw open the WTC final chance for Sri Lanka with a possible 2-0 whitewash against New Zealand also in play. Bring it on!
India have been a dominant force in international cricket for the past few years, but suddenly look vulnerable again. After a convincing victory in Delhi, however, it seemed like they were starting to get back on-track. In Indore, two periods of ascendency and opportunity saw Australia firmly in control of the pressure – though India’s resilience was ultimately put to the test. The crucial moment came when Nathan Lyon produced some outstanding bowling spells which frustrated their opponents and ensured that Australia kept their position of strength. It is yet to be seen if India will recover from this until now concerning setback – but the progress made during the Delhi Test certainly gives them something positive to cling on to.
India’s plan to tailor-make spinning pitches did not go as smoothly as planned, with their batting line-up struggling against the impeccable bowling skills of Australia’s Lyon, Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann. Unfortunately, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara are the only specialist India batters who have been able to make a half-century in the series so far, leaving Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and R Ashwin to pick up the remaining slack. Despite their valiant efforts, India’s batters could not secure a victory for their team in Indore. It is clear that Indian fans should temper their expectations now that the playing field has been leveled following expert analysis of spinning pitches. The onus is now on India’s contested batting line-up to rally and rebound so they can take back some momentum in this ongoing series.
Australia’s batsmen have outperformed their Indian counterparts in the last two matches, but even more impressive than the individual results has been the strength of the top order. Usman Khawaja top scored with 60 runs in the first innings in Indore, while Steve Smith, Peter Handcomb and Cameron Green all made important contributions. The addition of exciting young talent Green to the batting line-up certainly added stability to a somewhat fragile-looking order at times, while Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne wrapped up victory in the second dig with a nimble display out in the middle. However, it is clear that the Australian tail still poses a worrying conundrum for selectors — having conceded a dramatic 8 for 28 collapse in Delhi interrupted by an uncharacteristic 6 for 11 collapse further down in Indore. If skipper Tim Paine can manage to navigate his way through any potential collapse this week though, Australia could be proving very hard to beat indeed.
Australia will be fielding an enigmatic team – with Steve Smith at the helm and Pat Cummins absent – no matter if a dry or green seamer is presented, as both sides are expected to shape up similarly. As the ball has spun on each of the first three days in this series, whichever team bats best will win; so the toss significance is secondary. India must come out victorious, with national pride and their formidable home-ground reputation resting on their shoulders. Anything less in front of their Prime Minister Modi would bring tremendous humiliation. It remains to be seen which skipper can make best use of his XI’s skill set and propel his side to victory!
