IND vs AUS 3rd Test: Steve Smith the skipper has risen to the occasion and has led his team to an emphatic victory over Rohit Sharma's India. The ongoing edition of the Border-Gavaskar trophy was much awaited, but to be very fair and honest, it hasn't lived up to its promise with all three Test matches coming to a close within 3 days. This Test series so far hasn't been a great endorsement for the longest format of the game, a format that is slowly dying.
India were 2-0 up in the series coming into this Test match and had retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth consecutive time but the recently concluded Test match in Indore has raised a few burning questions and they need to address them pretty soon. As far as the result of this Test match is concerned, it was in the making for a very long time, but India always managed to find a hero when they were in trouble. Here's a list of 5 major reasons that led to team India's downfall.
1. Experimentation with the pitch
The turf is something that is the holy grail of the sport. A lot depends on it and on many occasions, the turf plays a crucial role in deciding the fate of the match irrespective of the format. Before this match, India had played 2 Test matches and had ended up winning them both by a massive margin, but this time, the curators prepared a pitch that was nothing else but a prime example of experimentation. The pitch was a mixture of red soil and black soil and it ended up being awkward for everybody playing. A total of 14 wickets fell on the first day and come to the second day, a total of 16 wickets fell. Experts all across the globe have been very critical of the pitch and it might very well get a below-average rating from the ICC match referee.
2. Lack of application by batters
Indian batters have been pretty disappointing in this series so far and there is no other way to say it. Rohit Sharma scored a splendid century in the Nagpur Test, but if we brush it aside, the Indian batters have been nothing but highly disappointing. Virat Kohli at an average of 22.20 has scored only 111 runs, Cheteshwar Pujara with an average of 24.50 has scored only 98 runs and Shreyas Iyer with an average of 10.50 has scored only 42 runs in this series. India's middle order has hardly contributed and this speaks volumes about Indian batters and their form.
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3. Captaincy errors
Rohit Sharma has 5 IPL titles, one more than Chennai Super Kings's MS Dhoni, but Test cricket is a different ball game. If we compare Steve Smith to Rohit, he was street smart, kept on rotating his fielders, and always looked to attack with close-in fielders. India on the other hand lost all their reviews in the first innings while defending their low score of 109. Slip fielders, silly point, short leg, silly mid-off, forward short leg, and short square leg, Steve Smith had everything while Lyon and Kuhnemann were bowling. On the other hand, Rohit decided to go with two slips and only one close-in fielder irrespective of the bowler and the batter's hand. This allowed Australia to score freely, rotate the strike, and hit boundaries. The leadership group of the Indian cricket team need to reflect on their strategies and work on them before the final Test match starts.
The fourth and final Test match of the series will be played from March 9, 2023, to March 13, 2023, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. India need one victory more to seal their spot in the WTC 2023 final and they will hope to cover all their before they take the field against the mighty Aussies, right now under Steve Smith they look mighty.
