A CRICKET SEASON’S CLOSING HURRAHS

With new heroes and old worthies, India ascended, then cemented, its No 1 status. And the hard Aussies were broken.

By Qaiser Mohammad Ali, Outlook

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy for which
India and Australia play Test match cricket.

IT was the longest cricket season ever — 13 gruelling Tests, against four rival countries. At the end of it, Team India shone like the Dhauladhar range did on the last day of the last Test in Dharamshala. India lost only one Test, and won ten. Apart from some brilliant individual performances, the two talismanic ‘K’s — Kohli and Kumble — persisted with the team’s core of young and passionately energetic players ever eager for more. They delivered a veritable bounty and vindicated India’s rank as the No. 1 Test team, and the $1 million jackpot from the ICC.

The long winter’s spell on the greens tested the character and temperament of the younger players — K.L. Rahul, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja — and they repaid the faith reposed in them with performances of strong-jawed grit and loose-limbed elegance. The acme of their achievement was the sizzling come-from-behind 2-1 triumph against Australia in the four-Test series to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. For the record, India have now become only the third team in Test history, after Australia (in 2004-05 and 2006-07) and South Africa

(2012-13), to win Test series against all their opponents in one season.

As expected, the series against the Aussies was the toughest. Captain Virat Kohli had said at its start that most of the Australian cricketers were his friends off the field. At the end of the bitterly-fought series, he corrected himself. “No, it has changed. I thought that was the case (that they were friends) but it has changed for sure,” he said at the press conference in Dharamshala.

India’s charged turnaround after their defeat to Australia in the first Test in Pune owes much to Kohli’s captaincy. Trailing 0-1, the team made a stunning comeback after conceding a first-innings lead in the second Test in Bangalore, won it convincingly, drew the third Test in Ranchi and went on to win the Dharamsala Test under stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane. “One moment that defined the season was the game in Bangalore. It really pushed us to come back hard in the series, level it and then capitalise from there. That was the true test of character for all the boys,” said Kohli.

The skipper conceded that when his team blanked out England 4-0 earlier in the season, he felt it was a hard-fought series. But after confronting the well-prepared, indefatigable Australians head on, he was forced to change his assessment. This last series win helped him gain a lot of confidence as a captain, with renewed belief in his uncompromising credo — trying to win games from all situations. Kohli’s stupendous batting record in India took a beating though — he never crossed 25 in the entire series. Even then, Kohli was the second highest scorer this season — 1,252 runs with four centuries and two half-centuries in 12 Tests. He is behind Cheteshwar Pujara, who amassed 1,316 runs with four centuries, including a double, and eight half-centuries—testimony to his consistency at No. 3.

Left-arm-spinning all-rounder Jadeja and pacer Umesh Yadav came of age as the most improved players. Opener K.L. Rahul, middle order batting mainstay Rahane, and off-spinner Ashwin were the other notable performers. Noted left-arm spinner Rajinder Goel is impressed by the improvement Jadeja has shown. “He’s India’s best all-rounder at the moment, though Ashwin is also good. Jadeja now has more control over his line and length. He is a true match winner,” says Goel.

Jadeja played all 13 Tests this season, capturing 82 wickets (seven five-wicket and three 10-wicket hauls) and scored 556 runs with five half-centuries. Against Australia, he was the top wicket-taker on either side, with 25 scalps, and scored two crucial half-centuries. Importantly, his spells were curmudgeonly too—hopelessly tied down batsmen chafed under his tight control. His exploits fetched him the Man of the Series for being the most valuable player, besides the Man of the Match award in Dharamshala.

While spinners were wreckers-in-chief, Umesh raised his game many notches on pitches that were primarily turners. That didn’t deter the former college sprint champion. “I’m quite impressed the way Umesh is bowling. He is outstanding and did extremely well. I hope India gets a couple of more fast bowlers who could bowl at 145 kmph consistently and be useful abroad as well,” former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar tells Outlook.

Yadav played 12 of the 13 Tests this season and emerged as third highest wicket-taker after Ashwin and Jadeja, with 30 scalps. But that is a mere number; his never-say-die spirit was most impressive on pitches where a lesser pacer would be demoralised easily. Once thought of as a somewhat wayward bowler of raw pace more suited for shorter formats, Umesh displayed guile, discipline and an awesome staying power along with unfettered hostility.

More often than not, opener Murali Vijay provided India with a solid foundation, scoring 771 runs in 12 Tests, ahead of Rahane, who tallied 718 in 11. “I’ve been watching Rahane since his India A days and at the moment he is at the peak of his career. He has an excellent temperament and he scored crucial runs. Of course, he should be an integral part of the team for a long time to come. Also, he captained India quite admirably as losing Kohli, the best batsman in the world, was a big blow for India. Ajinkya grabbed the opportunity both as a batsman and captain,” says Vengsarkar.

But the real find was K.L. Rahul, whose languid touch-play--leaning into, not forcefully stroking, those exquisite drives along the field--recalls the natural grace of a southpaw. Rahul was amazingly consistent throughout, after staging a successful comeback from a hamstring injury he sustained during the Kanpur Test against England.

In nine Tests during the season, he scored 708 runs, including a superb 199 against England in Chennai. His six half-centuries came in seven innings, and that comprised a superb first-innings 90 in the Bangalore Test. “Rahul is very positive in his mind and is a very self-confident person. He has a lot of patience, too. He backs himself really well. After getting out in the 90s six-seven times in Ranji Trophy, he realised that he had to improve on that count,” says J. Arun Kumar, batting coach of Karnataka, who moulded Rahul.

Wicket-keeper Wriddhiman Saha was another quiet but crucial performer, though Parthiv Patel did chip in remarkably well as a substitute for three Tests after Saha got injured against England. “Saha got centuries against Bangladesh and Australia; even his 30s and 40s were crucial; they were like 70s and 80s in impact. Keeping wickets on turning pitches is an art and if you miss one catch or stumping chance your match is virtually over. Even Parthiv Patel did well when Saha got injured,” says former India wicket-keeper Kiran More.

When preparing turning tracks, the margin for error is low, and the treacherous Pune pitch—where India succumbed meekly—got righteous flak from all and sundry. A shadow lingered over the pitch in Bangalore too, where India made a grand comeback. But by the time the entourage moved to Ranchi and Dharamshala—both Test debutant venues, like Pune—the heat of battle firmly relegated the pitch issue to the background and players’ performance became the talking point.

The same band of of players will have to show overseas that their performances in the landmark 2016-17 home season were no flash in an Indian pan. Two such tours will be to Sri Lanka in July-August, which is a full series and to South Africa in January-February 2018, when India will play four Tests, besides ODIs and T20s. In May, India also travels to the West Indies, but there are no Tests scheduled. These series will make or mar some reputations. But that’s for later. Right now, the chaotic, colourful farrago of the nationality-blurring IPL promises to sweep away fans in its annual delirium.

(First published in Outlook issue, dated April 10, 2017)