Rohit Sharma’s broadside at his bowlers and Travis Head’s dominance of the touring side are making headlines in the Indian media after Australia levelled the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series at 1-1 with a 10-wicket victory in Adelaide.
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The Times of India pounced on post-match words from Rohit targeted at his bowlers.
“Skipper Rohit Sharma on Sunday issued a strong message to India’s bowling unit, after the disappointing loss in the pink-ball Test at Adelaide, stressing that Jasprit Bumrah cannot carry the entire burden alone.
“Speaking candidly, Rohit emphasised the need for collective responsibility from all bowlers. The Indian captain urged the team to step up and support their star pacer, calling for greater contributions from the rest of the bowling attack as Bumrah’s exceptional skills can’t be expected to deliver from both ends.
“‘We are not just playing with one bowler. There are other bowlers also who will have to take responsibility and get the job done for the team, be it (Mohammed) Siraj, Harshit Rana, Nitish Reddy, Akash Deep or Prasidh (Krishna),’ skipper Rohit said at the post-match presser, sending a loud and clear message for his bowling unit.
“‘These bowlers have just arrived in Test cricket … Whenever they play a match, it’s important to give them confidence. We keep planning an discussing. But you can’t expect Bumrah to bowl from both ends and from morning to evening.”
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Writing for The New Indian Express, Gomesh S said that Head – who made 140 in the first innings and had a clash with Siraj upon his dismissal – had become an all-too-familiar tormentor for India – branded a ‘Head-ache yet again for Rohit and Co’.
“In many ways, the writing was on the wall for India. In this instance, Australia batter Travis Head putting India to sword when it matters the most. Over the last 18 months, he has done it time and again against India. World Test Championship final, check. ODI World Cup final, check. To say that he was behind India’s failure to capture global titles would not be an understatement.
“So much so that every time he plays and misses, Indian cricket fans would relive the events of November 19, 2023 in Ahmedabad. So, when the Indian team arrived on the shores of his hometown — Adelaide — they would have had to pull off a mighty effort to stop him from scoring a century. As fate would have it, they couldn’t.”
Head opens up on heated Siraj exchange | 00:54
Head aside, it has so far been a series marked by inconsistency from the batters, wrote Sriram Veera in The Indian Express.
“What one feared might happen at Perth transpired in Adelaide. It raises the fear whether Perth was an aberration and Adelaide the norm. But Perth has taught us not just about Indians’s bouncebackability, but also about Australia’s iffiness, too. These are essentially two competitive teams performing below-par in their batting, and possessing the traits to be inconsistent. Not only has India had batting collapses in recent times, the Australian Test team too has suffered a few.
“When the ball moves around, it cannot be said with any certainty about either team that their batsmen will weather it. And until that vulnerability persists, the series will remain open. Until one set of batting unit is able to achieve consistency, the see-saw might yet continue.”
Writing in the Hindustan Times, Ashish Magotra said that India’s recent batting struggles beggared belief.
“In three of the four innings India have completed on this tour of Australia, the top-scorer has been Nitish Reddy. That shouldn’t be right but it is.
“In their last 10 innings, India have scored less than 200 six times with a low of 46. That shouldn’t be right but it is.
“Since the home series against New Zealand in 2021, India’s top seven have been averaging 27.94 in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries. That shouldn’t be right but it is.
“Yet, Rohit Sharma isn’t worried about the batting. That shouldn’t be right but it is.”
Siraj sprays after dismissing Head (140) | 02:30
Writing in the Deccan Herald, Madhu Jawali said that the Adelaide pink-ball defeat was humbling and marked an Australian return to form.
“India weren’t 36ed this time but the loss was no less crushing. Not unlike the last time they played here, India were humbled on the third morning of the pink-ball Test, helping Australia pull level at 1-1 in the five-match series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“It was a thorough professional performance by Australia who came here with their egos bruised and reputation damaged. Any more reversal here could have been catastrophic but they came out all guns blazing right from ball one on Friday afternoon. They looked more proficient, purposeful and hungry. Despite getting the best conditions to bat and bowl on the opening day itself, India blew it all away. This defeat was as much down to their inexperience with the pink ball as it was to their strategic dearth.”
A Press Trust of India report in the Deccan Chronicle summed up exactly how brisk the manner of defeat was.
“This was the shortest-ever Test between India and Australia in terms of balls bowled.
“India’s second innings lasted only 36.5 overs, with skipper Pat Cummins using the short ball effectively to claim 5 for 57. Scott Boland (3/51) inflicted early damage, while Mitchell Starc (2/60) chipped in with crucial wickets. Such was the dominance of the three premier quicks that Cummins didn’t even need Mitchell Marsh and Nathan Lyon in the second innings. In fact, the specialist spinner and all-rounder bowled just five overs between them in the entire game.”
