All is not lost

With the end of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) also came the end of India’s hopes of qualifying for the third edition of the World Test Championship final later this year. It was largely caused by a transitioning team unable to stop the hemorrhage that began with the New Zealand series at home, bleeding that saw India lose six out of their last eight Tests in the current cycle. Yet, all is not lost for Indian cricket, for under the flab of disappointment, there is hope of rebuilding a side with players who performed with elan in testing conditions, without much support from their teammates. They just happen to be from three different specialised skill sets —a batsman, an all-rounder and a bowler—respectively, who the new team can regrow around.

Yashasvi Jasiwal

An airborne catch, with his legs folded into his upper torso, in the first innings of Sydney to dismiss Beau Webster, followed by a low dive to his left to get rid of Steve Smith in the second innings, was Yashasvi Jaiswal’s redemption to the only real criticism he received on this long tour Down Under— that of spilling crucial chances, plural, to let Australia off the hook in the fourth Test in Melbourne. But four catches at the Sydney Cricket ground, all at gully, placed him rightly back in the upper echelons of this specialist fielding position.

But mainly there were numerous heroics with the bat. Despite having built a reputation as India’s next big thing, with over 700 runs in a series against England at home and his ability to not lose focus on scoring a hundred, Jaiswal hadn’t yet proved his mettle in the SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia) nations. A first innings duck in Perth didn’t help, but he followed that up with 161 runs in the second innings, leading India to a Test victory. The runs continued to flow, 391 of them in all, including a pair of 80s in Melbourne.

With a little more grit and support from the other end, Jaiswal could have had a far greater and meaningful impact on the series. The future, though, is very bright for this exceptional 23-year-old. And it is around his prowess as an opener that the transitioning Indian batting order shall and will end up building their new set-up around. Jaiswal’s next big challenge will be in England, with a new-look top-order to first protect, and then inspire.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

Jaiswal wasn’t the only youngster to shine at the BGT. In many ways, Nitish Kumar Reddy had an even finer series, given that the 21-year-old hadn’t even played Test cricket before taking the flight to Australia. With only a handful of First Class matches under his belt, and based largely on his skills shown in white-ball cricket, Reddy was given a debut in Perth. He responded by counter-attacking his way to the top-score in a low scoring first innings, despite batting as low as number 8, and followed it up with the wicket of fellow all-rounder Mitchell Marsh in the second innings in Perth. Incredibly, the top-scoring continued through the course of the series, incredible because he continued batting amidst the tailenders.

Before the last Test in Sydney started, Reddy had top-scored in four out of seven innings, including in both innings in the day-night Test of Adelaide, where the conditions were starkly different from his debut Test. The fourth and final of those occasions was a career-defining maiden hundred. In front of record crowds at the gigantic Melbourne Cricket Ground, Reddy walked in to bat with India in real bother at 191/6, in reply to Australia’s first innings total of 474. Shortly before he was done (he was the last wicket to fall as he brought India right back into the contest), Reddy dropped down to one knee, placed his helmet on his bat handle and closed his eyes to celebrate reaching the three-figure mark.

In the packed stands, the camera focused on a shaking and crying man. He was Mutalyu Reddy, Nitish’s father, who had sacrificed his own career to further his son’s. Mutalyu’s story, and tears, would soon resonate with a nation, including causing legends such as Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar to choke up in the commentary box. Given the start his career had, Reddy will not only be a key figure during the England series in June, but is primed to float further up the order into the all-rounder’s batting spot.

Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah’s haul of 32 wickets is the most-ever by an Indian in a single series in Australia, and the most by any visiting bowler in over thirty years, since the great Curtly Ambrose claimed 33 wickets on a tour Down Under back in 1991-92. Yet, perhaps an equally great contribution along with his sensational bowling spells on this tour was his leadership skills, which Indian cricket will lean on going ahead. When Rohit Sharma missed out on the first Test in Perth due to the birth of his child, Bumrah stepped in and not only led India to a win, but he also did so after the team (under Rohit) had lost the previous three matches on the bounce to New Zealand. Then, when he had to stand in for Rohit again in the final Test in Sydney, this time after the opener had dropped himself for the good of the team, Bumrah kept India in the hunt for a win right until he hobbled off the field in the second innings with a back spasm.

Even before the series started, 31-year-old Bumrah was already not only the best fast bowler in the game today, but quite easily the best all-format player as well, never dropping in intensity be it with white, red or pink ball. But when he got to the landmark of 200 Test wickets in Melbourne, something rather remarkable had happened: no other bowler in the history of the game, quick or spinner, had gotten there with a bowling average of less than 20. With three five-wicket hauls and two four-fors in this series alone, the fast bowler stood head and shoulders above the heap in his ability to turn the tale of a match. By the time the England series swings by, he’ll hope to find support from the opposite end of the pitch, because the burden of leadership will most likely be on his shoulders too.

Other notable mentions

Rishabh Pant

The hero of the 2020-21 tour of Australia had his moments on this tour as well, but Rishabh Pant will be the first to agree that he wasn’t up to his own lofty batting standards. A top score of 61, in the very final innings of the series, was his only fifty on the tour. And his dismissal in the final session of the Melbourne Test eventually led to India’s downfall and led to much furore. But ever so quietly, Pant went about his business behind the stumps, taking 26 caught behinds and hence ensuring his keeping skills alone warranted a place in the eleven.

Washington Sundar

With the retirement of R Ashwin in the middle of the series, India could not have asked for a more bespoke replacement in fellow Tamil Nadu off-spinner, Washington Sundar. The 25-year-old not only contributed with wickets here and there during his appearances over three Tests, which is about all one could ask for from a spinner on these fast wickets, but he also pitched in with the bat, even registering a fifty in Melbourne. But in spinning conditions, Sundar should come into his own in a big way with the ball, as the Kiwis found out in Pune, where he took 11 wickets, including a career-best seven-for.