Retirement and poor form open gaps in Australia's once formidable fighting front.
Think of Australia’s Test defeats in the last decade or so. The dominant images will be of either individual brilliance (Lara, Lakshman, Tendulkar, Dravid, Agarkar, Flintoff) or close finishes which could just as well have gone Australia’s way (Ashes 2005). In most cases, Australia seemed the better team until one man, or two, decided to take matters in their own hands and made history.
That’s right, you had to make history to beat Australia (except, of course, in some of the dead rubbers that England and West Indies won). Australia’s defeat was invariably an upset, creating shock and awe.
That is why the Mohali Test could be a turning point in history. Having drawn in Bangalore, India won with a handful of good performances from its players, though no one really played out of his skin. No one was required to. And that could be because Australia, after riding the old momentum for a while, is finally showing the gaps created by the exit of a bunch of players who would be contenders for any all-time, best-of eleven.
Of those left, Hayden is battling poor form, the kind that almost cost him his place after the 2005 Ashes debacle. Ponting never bats well in India. This time, his undoing is not spin; it’s Ishant Sharma’s fast incoming delivery. Lee, who has recently separated from his wife, is playing his first Test series in India. Given that, it can’t be easy to be the bowling spearhead. Michael Clarke, who made a sensational debut on the last tour to India, looks a shadow of that bright young talent. Of the rest, only Hussey looks ready for battle. That’s not enough to win Test matches.
The result is that for the first time India’s pace attack looks better than Australia’s, even though there is just the two of them to carry the yoke until Harbhajan takes the ball fairly early for a spinner.
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Indian batsmen, on the other hand, seem more likely than earlier to string together useful little partnerships. If McGrath and Gillespie were taking the new ball, an opening partnership of 180 in the third innings would have been many times more difficult.
The old Australia may well have forced a win in Bangalore, instead of allowing Zaheer and Harbhajan to wag. Gilchrist at number seven in the batting order could well have counter punched his team out of trouble at Mohali.
Australia cannot show the swagger of old if it scores at 2.5-3 runs an over and hurtles to its biggest defeat (in terms of runs) in 17 years. Ponting’s men may bounce back in this series. But they no longer look unbeatable.