Why the Perth win be remembered as a triumph of India’s youth | Cricket News
India vs Australia: Sometime in the afternoon at Perth, Fox Sports showed a split-screen visual. On the right side of the frame was Nitish Reddy running into bowl. On the left was one of the world’s greatest fast bowlers Dennis Lillee steaming in. Perhaps, they saw some similarity in the load-up of the left leg. Or perhaps Australia has gone all soft in lionising India. “What the hell is that? Why is that kid shown with Dennis; he is not even India’s main-line bowler, is he?,” an elderly lady scorer, who has seen Lillee terrorising batsmen, exclaimed in shock.
In some ways, the visuals were apt: the question before the series was whether India’s youngsters can perform in alien and hostile Australian conditions. Within four days, one of them has been propped up next to a pace legend. How quickly can things change?
Nothing went against the script on the final day, with India downing Australia, overnight on 12 for 3, for 238. Only Travis Head crossed 50; he made an attacking 89 before Jasprit Bumrah, the man of the match, ended his stay. “When you lose a Test like this, there is a lot of hurt in the change room,” Pat Cummins said at the end. Conversely, when a team wins after being bowled out for 150, the feeling is one of pride. “I am very proud,” Bumrah talked about how he enjoyed being a captain and about his team.
Everything that India wished went in their favour, after that 150 all out at tea on the first day. The youngsters showed they belonged: be it Harshit Rana, who possibly produced the ball of the match when he knocked down the off stump of Travis Head, a game-turning moment in the first innings. Be it Nitish Reddy whose plucky 41 in the first innings gave the Indian bowlers something to work with, and whose breezy 38 in the second allowed Virat Kohli the room to not worry about doing it on his own when declaration was around the corner.
Be it Jaiswal, not a debutant but whose second-innings hundred reflected such maturity in the way he took his time (when he crossed his fifty, it was the slowest he had ever taken off 123 balls), that Bumrah too made a point to mention about that initial phase he kept leaving the ball. Or be it KL Rahul, who showed such reassuring form in both innings and in the way he mentored Jaiswal in the second.
Even the relative non-performances with the bat of Dhruv Jurel, who took the catch of the game with a stunning reflex pouch at short-leg to dismiss Mitch Starc in the second innings, and Devdutt Padikkal who wasn’t too bad, means selection headaches for India with Rohit Sharma, who had a batting stint at Perth nets against the pink ball, and Shubman Gill returning for the second Test.
Discipline and thinking
On Monday, yet again India’s discipline and thinking stood out. They tailored their bowling according to the demands of the up-and-down pitch, and according to the batsmen. Usman Khawaja, who likes to pull off the front foot, was thrown a sucker short ball but outside off Mohammad Siraj. Perhaps the ball didn’t come on at the pace he expected and allied with the fact that he was fetching it from outside off, a top edge resulted which was taken Rishabh Pant.
India also didn’t allow Steve Smith to return to form before the second Test. After initially looking confident, he was slowly nailed to the crease, and Siraj induced an edge with a straightener outside off stump. Mitch Marsh was made to sweat hard for his 47 as Bumrah hit his body a few times with carefully curated slower cutters. In the end, Nitish Reddy took him out, again the pitch playing a part with an inside-edge on to the stumps. It was during that spell that he found himself alongside Lillee on international coverage. Nathan Lyon was foxed with a lovely straightener on the off stump from Washington Sundar and lost his off stump.
Even the end was noteworthy. Rana, who had impressed many with his pace, bouncers, and control, slipped in a cool slower ball to take out a stubborn Alex Carey. Bumrah and KL Rahul picked stumps and just when it seemed there might be big celebrations, Indians turned quiet. Gentle handshakes, hands around each other’s shoulders, taps on the back – and they were off. Almost as if it was just another day in the office, and not one of the biggest days in Australian soil.
In 2021, they bounced back from the depths of 36 all out with a memorable win in Melbourne. But here, in 2024 Perth, they have bounced back in the same Test they were tottering after the nightmarish first innings. There is nothing ordinary about this extraordinary triumph.
