Ind vs Aus: No surprise element cost Virat Kohli & Co dear in Pune

Australian cricketers celebrate after winning the first Test against India in Pune on Saturday PicAFPAustralia may have done India a huge favour by winning the opening Test of the BorderGavaskar Trophy series in Pune on Saturday Steve Smith and his men punctured the Indian teams ego and shattered the layer of over confidence or complacency which may have crept in through the comprehensive series wins over New Zealand and England Its hard though to digest this massive loss because Team India were like an unstoppable runnaway train until a few days agoI remember some Australian youngsters coming over to the National Cricket Academy under the guidance of Greg Chappell to experience playing on subcontinent pitches They learnt the skills of negotiating spinners on turning tracks something which I feel paid rich dividends and vindicated their development plan of grooming young up and coming cricketersAs well documented the Australians had a camp in Dubai where the blueprint for the Indian tour was charted ndash all while India were playing Bangladesh in the oneoff Test at HyderabadInform Virat Kohli contributed to most of Indias recent wins with the lower order chipping in with vital partnerships With a great degree of team spirit and confidence India waited anxiously of this Test series but they were tested to the core mentally physically and skillwise The fact that the Australians were expecting turning tracks and prepared hard to hone their skills showed that they were very anxious about playing on turning tracks and tackling the guile of R Ashwin and Ravindra JadejaPoor timingProbably flat tracks should have been dished out in the first two Test matches which would have given the India toporder batters time to get into rhythm and the bowlers could have been rotated too to keep them fresh for the last two Test matches At the same time the Australian fast bowlers would have put in extra efforts and this would have tired them mentally and physically Playing on good wickets in the first two Tests and suddenly challenged to play on turning tracks in the next two would have been a different ball gameAlso the pressure of losing the series when challenged would have added to Australias anxiety and that would have the been the right time to let loose a spinner to go for the kill However India gave the Aussies what they were expecting turning track instead of surprising them with a different planThe Australians are masters when it comes to physical and mental disintegration of opponents which is worth emulating They do it so well ndash at times through their media showing concern and helplessness of getting top batsmen out planting the seeds of complaceny or doubt depending whom they are targetingThey work shrewdly all the time on the skills that are required to implement tactics and plans for each Indian batsman I am pleased with Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharmas performance Umesh looks a much improved and mature bowler than what he was six months ago He has understood the importance of bowling line and length even for a fast bowlerPace will payIn addition he now has the skill to control the swing of the new ball and use it well when it starts reversing Its also good to see Ishant running in well and being much more stable with his backfoot landing and at the point of releaseHis consistency has improved and with some more work on the positioning of his wrist and fingers at the point of release mdash coming down vertically to make the ball land on the seam mdash will make him a more effective bowlerMeanwhile Team India should dust themselves and remember all is not lost I believe this team has the talent to win the remaining Tests and clinch the series opening Test blues notwithstanding