India Foreshadows Cricket Dominance With Thrashing Of Australia

Underlining cricket’s generational divide, in a clash of the sport’s traditions and its inevitable future, the backend of the blockbuster series-opener in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India was played with the Indian Premier League looming large.

Even though it boasts many of their country’s top players, testament to the financial power of cricket’s richest league, Australian fans and the media don’t have much interest in the IPL which is played in the immediate aftermath of its season.

But for Indian media in Perth, they had to work dual shifts and slog through long days covering the Test match followed by who had sold for what price in an IPL auction that grips India. As journalists in the press box explained to their Australian counterparts, the IPL is especially king among younger cricket fans in India.

While it was once international cricket that was at the heart of the obsession for the sport they love, fans are starting to be invested more for their IPL team than the India national team. The IPL has also come of age amid the rise of sports betting and fantasy games.

Cricket had been a rare major sport where international cricket was far more popular than franchise leagues, but that is changing in India where a generation has been weaned on the IPL since it took off in 2008.

There is widespread belief that the IPL, currently running for around two months, will expand to the lengths seen in American major sport leagues. With an abundance of resources, including growing relations with Saudi Arabia as links deepen with this year’s auction held in Jeddah, the IPL appears likely to eventually completely transcend the sport.

But, right now, international cricket is still alive. And despite attention spans declining, the traditional five-day Test format endures. In Australia it is still the most popular form of cricket and series against India are particularly hyped.

But Test cricket could be effectively extinguished if not for mighty India’s overwhelming support of the format despite lukewarm interest back home.

Credit should go to its all-powerful boss and incoming ICC chair Jay Shah, who has been a staunch advocate and so too superstar Virat Kohli – the most famous cricketer in the world doubling as the sport’s most influential voice.

India have been determined to absolutely dominate this most respected format, which they had modest success until the last couple of decades. They’ve had a decade-long win streak against Australia and been arguably the best team over this period mostly on the back of an astonishing home record that was only just recently breached.

But India have never truly dominated across the board. They’ve never had an all-time team like West Indies 1980s or Australia 2000s. Given their resources and depth of talent in a country where cricket is clearly the most popular sport, India should really be almost unbeatable.

We’re seeing their overwhelming might strengthening in the T20 format, where India won June’s World Cup and they’ve been eviscerating all comers for some time. The IPL’s breeding ground has clearly started to bear fruit.

But they want to do likewise in Test cricket and etch their names alongside those legendary teams. Their first Test upset against Australia could well be foreshadowing the future.

India were largely written off ahead of the series, after that unprecedented home whitewash against New Zealand, and were shorthanded without a slew of veterans including captain Rohit Sharma.

But a youthful India provided energy to rattle an aging Australia in a surprisingly one-sided contest. Thanks to strong pathways, Australia usually has an enviable depth of talent but right now the cupboard is bare.

India, however, have options galore in all departments as they proved in the first Test where Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana impressed on debut.

Kohli rewound the clock to peel off a masterful century to end a form slump, but 22-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 161 proved he is a worthy protégé to India’s long-time talisman.

India are in pole position to win the series. But there will be twists and turns in cricket’s most tempestuous rivalry. Australia will surely bounce back having looked particularly sluggish after a long hiatus from Test cricket.

India may not win the series, but it feels like prolonged domination of Test cricket is imminent. Their cash-rich governing body recently launched its new national training centre that has cutting edge amenities the rest of the cricket world can only dream of.

India’s off-field wealth has not quite married up on-field, but it’s not far away.