Adelaide: India are in a tight spot and they aren’t out of it yet. Day 1 of the Adelaide Test was a firm reminder of how each Test is a different challenge and demands new skills to succeed. So, despite the success of Perth, momentum plays a very small role in a series between top teams.
“I know the score looks like there’s a big gap between the two teams but we still feel we’re in the game and with a few tweaks tomorrow, if we bowl slightly better, we feel like we can get back into the game tomorrow,” said India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate.
Part of the reason for this positive outlook despite a tough day on the field is because of the way the day played out. India lost an early wicket, then seemed to steady the ship. But then just when it seemed like they had their noses in front, they would lose a few more wickets.
“I mean obviously to lose a wicket on the first ball sort of sends jitters to the change room but we recovered very well at 69/1. We probably feel like we’ve missed a chance there. I also feel with the pink ball, that’s the nature of the pink ball. Things can happen quickly. Things happen in clumps. We lost wickets in clumps, which we wanted to avoid. But I also thought Mitchell’s stock ball worked very well and there’s lessons to be learned from that first innings. So, we’ll go away and look how we can play better in the second innings.”
One clear lesson to be learned was how India didn’t pitch the ball up enough. Australia led by Starc got the line and length right very quickly and even before the Indians could fathom what was happening, they were back in the hut.
The one bright spot for India was Nitish Reddy’s batting. He is still very raw but with every match, he is showing great maturity and at the highest level, it matters the most.
“We are so chuffed with him, you know, from the prep week in Perth where he looked like he still needed to figure things out,” said ten Doeschate. “The way he worked and the game plans he implemented in Perth to get crucial runs there, I think to get us to 150 in that first game was amazing. Just the way he’s gone about his work here, it’s obviously the first pink ball game he’s playing in but he sticks to the plan.”
He added: “There’s still a little bit of work to do, he’s very raw, but for a young kid, a 21-year-old, to come out like that and play three innings of the quality he has, it’s super exciting. Being rewarded by being back to bat seven in this game. There’s obviously a chat around about washing up playing. But he’s done everything a young player could do in a very short space of time and we think he’s got a very high ceiling.”
But both teams know this game is far from over and that makes Day 2 so very interesting. If Australia manage to put on the big runs, then India will need something special too in their second innings.
Batting only tends to get tougher at Adelaide and this match is no different. India’s young bunch will fancy chase down everything. And because they all seem to score quickly, targets need a constant re-evaluation.
“Yeah, the game’s changed. The game’s allowed to change,” said Starc. “I guess that’s partly the T20 era, isn’t it? You know, some of these guys come up, grow up through IPL cricket and there’s no fear or there’s the expectation to be very good from the get go and they’re quality players from the time they get into international cricket no matter what their age is.”
