Perth The capital of Western Australia, one of the most affluent places in the country (courtesy an oil boom around the turn of the century), and a quiet city that sleeps early, Perth is suddenly the centre of attention of hundreds of millions of people from across the Indian Ocean.
The first Test of the five-match series for the Border Gavaskar trophy gets underway on Friday, and India’s truly rabid fans will be hoping that the country’s team can achieve a once-unthinkable three-peat down under.
Once unthinkable because that is what history shows. From the first tour in 1947-1948 — which saw India skipper Lala Amarnath’s batting coming in from high praise from the Don himself — to 2014-15, India won just five Tests in Australia.
Then, out of nowhere, India won two series in a row — four Tests across the two.
In 2018-19, Cheteshwar Pujara (521 runs, 1,258 balls and an average of 74.42) lifted the team with a gritty display that would have fitted into any manual on how to bat in Test matches. He wore down the Aussies and when he was done, the men from down under had nothing left to give.
In 2020-21, Australia were stronger and the triumph was even more remarkable when one considers that India were bowled out for 36 in the first Test at Adelaide. In a different era, that collapse would have broken the team’s spirit. But instead, they rose — with not just the odd piece of resistance but as a group, and amid injuries that tested the team’s bench.
By the time the fourth Test came along in 2020-21, the bowling attack consisted of Mohammed Siraj, T Natarajan, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini and Washington Sundar. In the fourth innings of the final Test, Shubman Gill (91) and Rishabh Pant (89 not out) played the kind of innings that perhaps told everyone that India’s time had come.
More than all the financial power that India could flaunt, more than all the talk about being the biggest market for the game, this was the moment the world realised that India had arrived as a cricketing nation.
Since then, Australia have fought back. They won the ODI World Cup in India beating the hosts in the final and then beat India in the final of the World Test Championship. They’ve rediscovered some of the toughness that seemed to go missing in the aftermath of Sandpaper-gate .
India seemed to be doing well too, across formats, till their recent white wash in a home series by the Kiwis.
Still, that loss doesn’t change the fact that Friday marks the beginning of the latest clash of titans. An old, proud, cricketing nation running into a young country awash in cricketing talent, and with the kind of financial clout (when it comes to the sport) that the game has never seen before. Who will triumph? Will the old order be restored? Or will India script another miracle?
It is the kind of series that Test cricket needs to remind the world of its value, a series where even the dot balls will be applauded and greatness will be measured not just in runs or wickets but resilience too.
Nor is this some hoary old rivalry; it is one that has its roots in recent times — which makes it compulsory viewing for young people who have seen neither Border nor Gavaskar play.
Over recent years — ignoring the performance against New Zealand — India have grown stronger, but also older. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin — all likely touring Australia for the last time — would like nothing more than to go out in a blaze of glory. The world’s best bowler across formats, Jasprit Bumrah, would like nothing more than to script a series win, something he hasn’t really done in Australia. And from Shubman Gill to Rishabh Pant to Dhruv Jurel to Washington Sundar to Mohammed Siraj, there are young players who know that this series could well see them make the transition from good to great.
Experts do not expect it to be a three-peat. This is a full strength Aussie team; and this is an Indian team that won’t be at its strongest.
But Australia also know that every win against India needs to be earned.
“It takes a lot, nothing comes easy against India” said Hazlewood on Wednesday. “I still remember my first series when we did win 2-0. I played three of those matches and they were really flat wickets, and I bowled over 50 overs in all those games.” His reference is to the 2014-15 series, when India was led by MS Dhoni.
He added: “I just remember being really sore and tired at the end of that series, and I was like ‘geez, we earned that two-nil’. That was tough. ‘I think it’s going to be nothing different here. The wickets might be a little bit different, might be a little bit more help for the quicks but they’ve got a great attack as well. There’s going to be some ups and downs in five Tests, but (we want to) just stay nice and level and consistent like we talked about and hopefully come out on top.”
The pitch at the Optus Stadium or Perth Stadium, which replaced the legendary WACA in 2018, will challenge both teams. It hasn’t been as warm as it usually is at this time of the year, but the curator is expecting a fast track with a wicked bounce.
Tough conditions tend to even the odds. One good burst could lead to an Australia collapse too but the hosts will be better acclimatised than the visitors who are coming off a crushing series loss against New Zealand.
The five-Test series will give both teams a chance to cut and probe. Players tend to grow through a series, and India have a bunch of boys eager to prove they are men.
