It doesn't get more intense for Virat Kohli's Indians and Steve Smith-led Australia as they kick off Game 2 of the 2016-17 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Bangalore today
Team India captain Virat Kohli and head coach Anil Kumble appear to be discussing the right combination for today’s second Test against Australia at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Pic/PTI
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For quite sometime now question in the Indian camp, on days leading to a Test, has always centered on how to get 20 opposition wickets. That's how the thought of playing five regular bowlers came about, especially on true tracks, where wickets had to be earned. But after Pune, whatever the state of the wicket, the thoughts perhaps are once again veering towards how not to lose 20 wickets. And that could well mean going back to the tried and tested seven batsmen (including the wicketkeeper) and four bowlers combination.
Defensive approach?
Do Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble have it in them though to take a defensive approach? One is not quite sure. After all they are two of the most aggressive cricketers to have played for India. So it could still well be a case of allowing the predicted nature of the pitch to dictate the picking of the final XI. With the surface at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the second Test kicks off today, normally being batting friendly to start with, the need for a fifth bowler may be felt badly. And, all said and done, one loss, however bad a loss it was, should not be reason to panic. What the loss in Pune, or rather the nature of the loss, has done for sure is put the Indian think tank in a spin. As skipper Kohli admitted on match eve yesterday they were still looking at two to three different combinations.
Confident Aussies
“Expect some surprises,” he said. This, even as Australian skipper Steve Smith made it very clear that they would make no changes whatsoever to their winning combination.
And why should they? They have two dangerous men at the top of the innings, David Warner when they bat and Mitchell Starc when they bowl. Both can be good on any kind of surface. And there is Smith himself, who simply loves to bat against the Indians. Add the highly impressive Matt Renshaw to the mix and the spin twins Nathan Lyon and Steve O'Keefe, no doubt full of confidence, and you have five people around whom the rest can rally.
For India, it is imperative that the openers click as a pair. Murali Vijay and KL Rahul have opened together for 13 times and while they have quite a few handsome individual returns to show in that time, they have just one 50-run stand which is a cause of concern. The Indian resurrection needs to start from these two men.
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