The fourth day of the Brisbane Test was nothing short of one of the thunderstorms that Queensland is known for. It was a day that saw 20 wickets fall for 281 runs. When it passed, Team India found themselves hit the most.
India remarkably collapsed from 71 for 1 to 224 all-out in the first session. That set the tone for an Australian win and their 2-0 lead in the series.
Indian captain, MS Dhoni, had no qualms in admitting that his batsmen messed up another chance of taking India to an overseas Test win.
“It is disappointing and the most important thing is to reason out why it happened. Once you find that out, you can rectify the mistakes in the coming game,” Dhoni said.
“Today the first session was very crucial and I don’t think we handled it very well. Had we got a decent partnership going and taken the game on the fifth day, we could have exploited the conditions better. The morning session had a big impact on the game.”
The mayhem for India began even before they took field in the morning. The batsmen were having a hit in the nets on wickets that had uneven bounce. Despite the team’s repeated requests for fresh practice pitches, the Indian batsmen had to hone their skills on the dangerous worn-of pitches.
While batting on one of them, Shikhar Dhawan – one of India’s overnight batsmen – bore one on his hand and injured his right wrist. It meant the Indian opener couldn’t continue his innings and Virat Kohli had to walk out in the middle instead.
Dhoni said that disrupted the serenity of the dressing room as the severity of Dhawan’s injury was known just minutes before the start of play.
“We went for the morning practice and the wickets were not very good,” Dhoni said. “Shikhar was batting, got hit and left. I had a hit as well and left early because we found the wicket to be uneven.
“By the time we came back to the dressing room, it was really close to the start of play. It’s then that we saw that Shikhar was not 100 per cent fit to bat. We could only give five-ten minutes to Virat to prepare.
“We didn’t handle it well because earlier we thought Shikhar was pretty okay to bat. This kind of thing creates a bit of unrest in the dressing room. One 20-25 minute partnership could have calmed things down but we couldn’t do it.”
While the catastrophic batting collapse proved to be the final nail in India’s coffin, the problems began on the third day itself when they just couldn’t get the Australian tailenders out. Mitchell Johnson led the way with a fiery 88 and the rest followed, allowing Australia to add 258 runs for the last four wickets.
About India’s persistent short ball attack to the Aussie tail, Dhoni said it would have proved to be successful with a slice of luck.
“We knew Mitchell can bat. So, it was important to bowl a few bouncers because we have got wickets with the short ball,” the Indian captain said. “Also, now we have bowlers who can bowl bouncers at good pace. Mitchell went for his shots and there were a few balls that didn’t quite go to the fielders. We kept changing our plans; it wasn’t that we went in only with one plan. In the end the only plan worked was taking the new ball. But we couldn’t do it after 60 overs.”
While accepting the flaws in his young team, Dhoni also urged people to be patient with them. He said he was confident that with a little more experience, this team will travel well overseas.
“Generally with a target of 120-130, the bowling team tends to throw in the towel. It was important that we fought until the last runs were scored. It was good to see the fast bowlers still running in, giving their 100 per cent and picking a few wickets,” he said.
“It will be a good learning curve for the team because they would realize that 80-90 extra runs really matter, especially in Australia. Here on the fifth day the wicket can really misbehave – the spinners get a bit of turn and a lot of bounce and the fast bowlers can get the ball to seam off the wicket.
The Indian skipper also took heart in the fact that unlike during their 0-4 loss Down Under in 2011, this time the team is putting up a much bigger and better fight.
“We have been able to pick wickets this time, which is the single most crucial factor to win a Test match. The execution power of our fast bowlers has increased. Ishant is the leader of the pack who can now consistently bowl in the same area.
“Varun is still raw and goes for some runs but it is good to see a pacer from India bowl at such good pace and get the opposition out with bouncers. We have been doing a lot of things right but not crossing the line. We need to give them some time. Once they harness their aggression in the right channel, you’ll see plenty of good results from this team.
“The exciting part is that we have competed, something we didn’t do the last time we were here. If you keep fighting, the game can change at any moment and you are suddenly back. With a bit more experience this team will do really well.
“The good thing is that the attitude of the boys has been really good. I hope we carry that on in the next two Tests as well,” the captain said.
