'Come what may' is the Aussie attitude. This is what pushed them into trouble in recent times. The sandpaper-gate row was nothing but 'come what may' stretched to a perilous extreme. However, it is this very attitude which has led Australia to rule the cricketing world for decades.
In the most recent exhibition of this attitude, the Aussies kept batting for one and a half days to earn an admirable draw against Pakistan. Set a daunting fourth innings target of 462, a loss seemed inevitable.
A lesser team would have certainly succumbed under scoreboard pressure on a day five pitch. And it is not as if this Pakistani attack was weak. The likes of Yasir Shah and Mohammad Abbas are good enough to give even the best of batsmen a run for their money.
Instead, the Aussies pitched their tent in Dubai. They batted for almost 140 overs – their longest ever fourth innings in Asia. The fightback was headlined by Usman Khawaja's unwavering ton, a man who averaged a bleak 14.62 in Asia before this match.
Boost Before the India Series
The Australian resistance against Pakistan was a team performance in the truest sense of the word. The pacers bowled their heart out in the scorching heat of Dubai. The spinners bowled accurately and hardly gave anything away. The opening batsmen stuck to their task in both the innings. The middle order after failing in the first essay fought back with renewed vigour. Even the tail-enders hung in there in the period of crisis.
The Newlands fiasco this March had broken the Aussie spirit. A show like this would serve to heal that crippled spirit.
Sometimes, when you are down, all you need is one extraordinary performance that bonds you together as a unit. This draw –no less than a win– has given the Australian team the much-required boost ahead of the home series against India.
India Have Their Own Issues
India are dealing with their own issues. KL Rahul has failed to be consistent. It has been a long time since Ajinkya Rahane has been in top form. Cheteshwar Pujara does not have too many runs under his belt. It also remains undecided that who will bat at No 6.
Although the team’s bowling has improved a lot as compared to their last Australian Test tour of 2014, the batting is looking unconvincing. With 692 runs from 8 innings, Virat Kohli was India’s most successful batsman in 2014. Murali Vijay, with 482 runs, was the second-highest scored for India. Ajinkya Rahane was at the third spot and Cheteshwar Pujara took the fourth place. While Kohli remains a notch above the rest, the other star performers have faded away. Vijay has been shown the door while Rahane and Pujara have been struggling with their form.
The Justin Langer Effect
Right from his playing days, Justin Langer’s image is more of a grafter than a dasher. A tough cookie, Langer is renowned for his unflinching resolve and fair play. After what happened in South Africa, Australia needed an overseer like him who is level-headed and means business.
"Inside the boxing ring it's the same as when you're playing Test cricket – nowhere to hide. You've got to face a lot of your own fears. If you punch someone properly it's like hitting the ball in the middle of the cricket bat – it's a really nice feeling," Langer once told former pro boxing world champion Vakhtang Darchinyan.
Just like in the boxing ring, Australia have to punch above their weight on the field with curtailed resources. The team has to play out of its skin not only to win matches but to regain lost respect. Under Langer’s stewardship, both prospects seem possible.
The Aussies Will Be No Pushovers
Two out of the three Aussie Test debutantes in Aaron Finch and Travis Head showcased their potential against Pakistan.
While Finch scored more than a hundred runs, Travis Head played a gutsy knock of 72 at a time when the team required it the most. Newly appointed skipper Tim Paine too seemed to have started finding his feet not only as a captain but as a batsman. He batted for 194 deliveries to see his side to safety.
Finch and Khawaja are looking good at the top. If Matt Renshaw, whose record suggests that he might be happy to face India, makes a comeback, Khawaja may bat at No 3. This gives the Aussies a solid top three with the classy Shaun Marsh coming in at four and Travis Head at five.
It will be no surprise if Glenn Maxwell is also included in the side for the India series. With Mitchell Marsh and Tim Paine in the mix as well, this makes for a nifty batting line up. And this is when batting is their weaker suit. The Aussie bowling attack remains formidable, especially at home. The disciplined Peter Siddle is back after a long layoff. We all know what Michelle Stark is capable of.
Nathan Lyon is arguably the best off-spinner around in Test cricket. Test regulars Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will also be back for the India series. With the hunger to earn back their lost glory, the comfort of their backyard and the 'come what may' attitude, brace yourselves India, Australia will be no pushovers.
(Saksham Mishra is a budding sports journalist and a student of Radio and TV journalism at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. This is a personal blog and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
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