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Sydney: The Indian team, struggling with the poor form of its top players, was knocked out of the World Test Championship (WTC) final on Sunday with a six-wicket defeat in the fifth and final Test, while Australia won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 after 10 years and made it to the WTC final with this victory. Defending champion Australia will now play the WTC final against South Africa at Lord's from June 11 to 15.
Had captain Jasprit Bumrah been able to bowl despite back stiffness, the target of 162 runs would have been difficult but in his absence it was almost impossible to defend this score at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Bumrah was chosen as the best player of the series for taking 32 wickets in five matches but this was no consolation for India's poor performance.
In Bumrah's absence, Krishna (3/65) and Mohammed Siraj (1/69) failed to put pressure on the hosts' batsmen, while skipper Virat Kohli continued to rely on the two pacers.
Despite some successes, Krishna and Siraj bowled a number of bad balls as the hosts reached 162 for four in 27 overs thanks to knocks by openers Usman Khawaja (41), Travis Head (34 not out) and debutant Beau Webster (39 not out).
This also exposed India's over-reliance on Bumrah. Bumrah tried bowling during the morning warm-up session but he was not feeling comfortable and his unavailability ensured that it would be impossible for India to defend the small target.
Earlier, Scott Boland (six wickets for 45 runs) and captain Pat Cummins (three wickets for 44 runs) bundled out India for just 157 runs in 39.5 overs in the second innings. If Rishabh Pant's 61 and opener Yashasvi Jaiswal's 22 runs are removed, the other nine players collectively contributed 74 runs. The Indian team lost its remaining four wickets by adding just 16 runs in the morning session.
India failed to reach the 200-run mark in the six completed innings of the series, so there is no need to tell what went wrong in the tour. Regular captain Rohit Sharma and star batsman Virat Kohli struggled to score a single good innings throughout the season due to technical problems.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (391 runs) was the top scorer for India despite getting out on zero three times. He is followed by debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy (298 runs), Lokesh Rahul (276 runs) and Rishabh Pant (255 runs).
Regarding the poor form of Rohit and Kohli, it cannot be denied that it is becoming difficult for both the veterans to stop the decline in their batting. There are some good young players in the team and they should be given a chance to develop with time in the new World Test Championship cycle.
A tough decision awaits Kohli and Rohit while the BCCI top brass must also seriously consider whether coach Gautam Gambhir is the right man to handle the responsibility across all formats.
Under Gambhir's leadership, India has lost six out of 10 Tests this season. Apart from this, the team had to face defeat in the ODI series in Sri Lanka.
If Kohli and Rohit are to be blamed, Gambhir cannot be left out just because the team is going through a phase of change. The head coach's stubborn attitude is known to all and due to this the players are not very comfortable with him in the dressing room.
Ravichandran Ashwin's retirement after Brisbane and Rohit's decision to drop himself were sudden. Tampering with a player's strategy is not the best way to manage as Pant showed by being too cautious at times which disrupted his natural rhythm.
The only positive from the series is that Jaiswal is emerging as the next batting superstar and Nitish Reddy has shown glimpses of talent. If Reddy's bowling improves, India will get a chance to play with three spinners on good pitches at home.
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