At the heart of Australia's impressive batting is the visiting batsmen's wherewithal to protect their wickets in the initial part of their innings
Indian players take a much-needed drinks break on Day Two of the second Test against Australia in Bangalore yesterday. Pic/AFP
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In the last hour of play yesterday, a former Australia batsman walked down the steps of the commentary box and whispered to his fellow co-commentator, "watching this match is more taxing than playing."
He was right. It was one of the most gruelling days of Test cricket. Only 190 runs were scored in 90 overs, something that is unheard of in the modern game. For the Australian batsmen, it was a unique experience. Their gameplan has always been to put the pressure on the opposition with proactive batting. But in Bangalore, led by 20-year-old Matthew Renshaw, the Australians once again showed their ability to execute their plans scripted in Dubai and managed grind the Indians into the ground.
Oz opener Matthew Renshaw during his 196-ball 60 vs India in Bangalore yesterday. Pic/AFP
Rarely did an over pass where an opportunity was not created, but in the end, only six wickets fell. The up-and-down bounce and the variable turn meant a batting collapse seemed inevitable, once a wicket fell, but it never occurred.
Full credit to the Australian batting that they did not fall like nine-pins in their three innings of the series so far. After all, one of the major reasons they have failed in the sub-continent over the past couple of series is because of catastrophic batting collapses.
In this series, the biggest disintegration has been 15 for three in the first innings at Pune. On the contrary, the Indians have had three monumental collapses. Since the debacle in Sri Lanka, head coach Darren Lehmann and captain Steve Smith have frequently spoken about preventing losing wickets in a bunch.
Even on a pitch that Renshaw believed was probably more difficult to bat on than Pune, due to the disproportional turn and bounce, each of the Australian batsmen ensured they found a method to survive the first 25-30 balls.
Apart from Mitchell Marsh, each of the top-order batsman faced 30 balls or more. It ensured India could not capitalise on the momentum they got after picking up a wicket.
Cricket is all about seizing on the opening, Australia provided six of them for India on Day Two, but at no point did they allow the hosts to take advantage of it. Perhaps, that is the reason they are so ahead in the series.
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