India arrived in Australia a month back, quietly confident of winning their first Test series ever in the Antipodes. Today, they stand totally humiliated, the world’s most vaunted batting line-up left in tatters by a disciplined, rather than awe-inspiring, pace attack.
Feted and celebrated the world over for the mountain of runs they have accumulated, the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman have been blown away like paper boats in a tempest; Sachin Tendulkar has had his moments, but they have been too few for him to single-handedly combat an Australian side that began this series as underdogs, but is now well on course to inflicting another 4-0 whitewash on Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men.
At the WACA on Friday, the opening day of the third Test, India were rolled over for 161. It was the third time in the last four innings that India hadn’t threatened the 200-run mark. Australia’s reply was emphatic – 149 without loss, David Warner smashing his way to a hundred in just 69 deliveries!
It’s ironical that the man who drove Warner to have a serious go at Test cricket must be at the receiving end of one of the most brutal assaults by an opener in recent times. Warner’s skipper of Delhi Daredevils, Sehwag, had urged the Australian to focus on making a mark in the longer version. Sehwag must have believed he was watching a mirror-image of himself as the left-handed Warner unleashed a succession of strokes that would have made the Indian vice-captain proud when on top of his game.
Sadly, from an Indian perspective, neither Sehwag, nor the rest of the batting unit, has been anywhere near its imperious best.
In England, when they were hammered 4-0 last summer, they had quite a few valid excuses. This time, with a full complement to back on, they have no such luxuries. Father Time has come calling on an ageing line-up that has been rendered toothless by the passage of the years.
In Sydney last week, India’s first innings folded up for 191. Michael Clarke replied with an unbeaten 329. This time, their 161 looks even more anaemic, especially with Warner alone having smashed his way to an 80-ball 104. The depths have been plumbed. Or have they?