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INDIAN CRICKET TEAM IS BREAKING NEW GROUND

Young Bites. Dated: 12/14/2018 11:56:33 AM

For the first time ever, India has won the first Test of a series
against Australia and now marches ahead as favourites, with
Australia seemingly floundering. It’s not often that an Indian team
can say with reasonable confidence that it doesn’t matter if the pitches
offer pace and bounce. Or that they have the bowlers to take 20 wickets
of the opposing side. A key factor that has pushed up the confidence
levels is the air of vulnerability around Australia. They appear to
be flailing. A few middle-order batsmen seem as if they don’t belong
at this level, openers look unsure of themselves and the lead strike
bowler, Mitch Starc, is struggling to find his rhythm. It has come to
the point where they depend entirely on their bowlers not just with
the ball but even with the bat as the lower order showed in the first
Test. Barring a nervy implosion from India, it’s likely that Australia
will lose 20 wickets in every Test. It would then come down to whether
their batsmen can score more than India to turn the tide. The second
Test at Perth is of great importance. If Australia loses, then panic
could set in and they could fold up in the rest of the series. It’s a new
ground and a new pitch and by all accounts it seems to be a track that
has pace and bounce, which in the past would have been a problem
for India, but not anymore. If anything, they have the bowlers to use
the conditions as well as, if not better than, the Australians. If M Vijay
or Rohit Sharma find their form, then Australian problems will
escalate. What would worry the Australians most is that India won
the first game without a substantial batting contribution from Virat
Kohli. Cricketing history is calling and Indians appear to be all ears.