Australians will tell you that there was once a player that opened their batting and took the game on against their opponents no matter what the situation. His name was David Warner – remember him?
It may only be a year since Warner retired, but his absence has been felt even more than was feared. In the series against West Indies at home, New Zealand away, and India at home to this point, Australia had missed their aura of intimidation at the top of the batting order.
For the Boxing Day Test, the Australian selectors felt that they had the solution. That solution was named Sam Konstas, a young tyro with three centuries this summer but also a collection of single-figure scores to go with them. It was a gamble; high risk but with the potential of high reward.
Senior selector George Bailey has worn a degree of criticism for some of his decisions in 2024, so he could justifiably bask in the triumph of one that his group has, at least in the initial stages, got right. Konstas’s initial effort of 60 from 65 balls, before being trapped pushing defensively at Ravindra Jadeja, was worth more to Australia’s first day tally of six for 311 than the scorecard suggests.
The sheer audacity of the fearless teenager represented a shift in the tactics employed by Australia in the series to this point. Where previously the intent was to blunt the Indian attack through sheer attrition, here there were reverse ramp shots played as early as the third over.
Sam Konstas of Australia bats during day one of the Men’s Fourth Test Match in the series between Australia and India at Melbourne Cricket Ground on December 26, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Morgan Hancock – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
Fearless charges down the wicket to loft the ball into the outfield now replaced the creasebound nudge for singles. And the tactic worked. The Indians were thrown off their stride to the point where Virat Kohli veered off his usual path between overs to bump Konstas as he passed. The lengths bowled ranged from too short to too full, with little in between.
It was a surprise and no small disappointment for the huge post-Christmas gathering when the young warrior was dismissed by the wily Jadeja. By then, however, his example had renewed in his partner Usman Khawaja a confidence that many feared had left, never to return.
Khawaja looked more relaxed and assured than at any stage of this Test series. The positive signs were there in the brief second innings in Brisbane, with two crisp boundaries before he became one of the many that lost their wicket in the search for quick runs.
There was to be no such sacrifice. One of the more impressive parts of Khawaja’s display was the willingness to dig in after Konstas left, allowing Marnus Labuschagne to establish himself at the crease and share in a partnership of 65 in 25 overs before becoming the first of four Australians to gift his wicket to his Indian foe.
Khawaja so misjudged the pace of the first ball of Bumrah’s mid-afternoon spell that he could only get the very toe of the bat to an attempted pull shot, giving Lokesh Rahul a regulation catch at mid-wicket that was duly accepted.
The third-wicket stand between Labuschagne and Steve Smith threatened to take the game away from the Indians, with the two batsmen joining the openers in the half century club, but with the scoreboard reading two for 237 the complexion of the game changed dramatically.
Labuschagne granted an interview to Fox Cricket at the post-tea drinks break. Whether or not this was a causative factor is impossible to gauge, but from the first ball back he attempted to hit off-spinner Washington Sundar over mid-on and only found the safe hands of Virat Kohli. It seemed an uncharacteristic stroke; at best the execution was off, but irrespective of the reason the dismissal triggered a collapse of three for nine.
Dual centurion Travis Head chose to leave his seventh ball from Bumrah, only to see it seam back and remove his off bail before he had the chance to add to the team’s tally. However, if Head’s dismissal was an unfortunate misjudgement, Mitchell Marsh’s demise to an ugly, undignified heave bordered on the unforgiveable.
Where the situation called for a steadying influence from one of the team’s senior members, instead Marsh’s wicket was discarded as a losing betting ticket might be consigned to the bin outside the bookmaker’s stand. His position for the Sydney Test must surely be under consideration, if not in terminal doubt.
Keeper Alex Carey provided what Marsh could not, keeping the scoreboard moving with relatively lesser risk, but his wicket fell to an excellent Akash Deep lag cutter late in the day, leaving past and present captains Smith and Pat Cummins to continue on day two.
The first session on day two could be pivotal to the outcome of the match. When Labuschagne and Smith were set, Australia would have been looking for a minimum tally of 450. Certainly it looks like a wicket where any score under 400 looks below par. However, with some instances of variable bounce already on show and India to bat last, the Australians will be looking to bat as long as possible for as many runs as possible.
Parky Clarethttps://https://ift.tt/RQ2gcvX restores aura of intimidation missing since Warner’s retirement
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