Australia have now made it 10 Test wins in a row at home after beating India at Adelaide and Brisbane. They lead the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-0 with two more Tests to play. Will the Australians make it 12 wins in a row or can India stop the run? Pramod Ananth analyses their chances.
Australia have always been a dominant force at home. Many teams have visited their shores, but Australia have time and again managed to dig deep and get the results. Even in the ongoing series against India, there have been instances in both matches where Australia have been on the back foot. In spite of Phillip Hughes’ tragic death a few days before the start of the first Test at Adelaide, Australia decided to play the match and came out with flying colours as they won by 48 runs.
They would’ve certainly had their hearts in their mouths on the final day of the Test, when India were inching closer to the target. Despite of an injury to their captain Michael Clarke, they managed a way to win. Even in the second Test, India had the edge for the first two days, but the Australians outclassed India and scripted another emphatic win with a day to spare. Australia have time and again proved that they have the strength and determination to get out of any situation. One can argue that the home conditions favour them, but that cannot be the only factor for their continued success.
Australia last lost a Test at home in December 2012, when South Africa slammed them by 309 runs in the final Test of their three-match series. Australia had already won the first Test at Brisbane comfortably in the two-match series. Since that series, they have not lost any match on home soil. The onslaught started when Sri Lanka toured Australia in 2012-13. Sri Lanka did not know what hit them as they lost all three matches of the series comprehensively. Sri Lanka did not cross the 300-run mark in the series after they made 336 in the first Test at Hobart.
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England then came to Australia for the 2013-14 Ashes series. England’s morale was on the high after Alastair Cook’s men had thrashed Australia 3-0 at home. But it was a different story altogether when his side played down under. England suffered a humiliating whitewash and the urn returned to Australia once again. Australia went to South Africa and won the series there and then lost both matches to Pakistan in United Arab Emirates (UAE) after that, which brings us back to the ongoing series against India. They have successfully managed to keep their record intact and don’t seem like letting of it for a while.
Australia are now being lead by a young a vibrant captain in Steven Smith. Smith took over from Clarke after the latter suffered an injury, which forced him to pull out of the series. Smith has the enormous talent at his disposal, be it in batting or bowling. He announced his arrival after captaining his side to a memorable win in the second Test at Brisbane.
Australia are very well equipped in every department. They have great opening players in Chris Rogers and David Warner, budding middle-order players in Shaun Marsh and skipper Smith himself, experience in the form of Brad Haddin, the aggression of Mitchell Johnson and the clever bowling of Nathan Lyon at their disposal. They have the ability to win the next two matches as well. India, on the other hand, must learn from their mistakes in the earlier matches and should address their familiar batting collapses. India’s middle-order too was under transition after the exit of some big names, but they have had enough experience in the last one year or so. India may be having a better middle-order compared to Australia, but they will have to convert them into big performances if they are to end their misery overseas in Tests and also Australia’s unbeaten run.
Going by the nature of the last two Tests, Australia are firm favourites to make it 12 wins in a row at home, unless India get their act together, address the batting woes and find out ways to get 20 wickets.
(Pramod Ananthis a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15 and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. He can be followed at @pramz)
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