A wounded Australia bounced back from the five-Test series against India with a 10-wicket victory at their happy hunting ground in Adelaide on Sunday that saw them regain the lead in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings.
The hosts suffered a comprehensive defeat at the hands of a beaten Indian team in the series opener in Perth which ended the pride of the reigning WTC champions.
However, under the leadership of their impressive captain Pat Cummins, Australia went full force against India, led by their captain Rohit Sharma and batsman Shibman Gill. Boosted by the return of , the series was tied 1-1 in a little more than two days.
Mitchell Starc terrorized the pink ball and broke India’s back with 6-48 in his first innings at the venue, where Australia now have a perfect 8-0 record in day-night Tests.
Among his victims were Perth centurions Yashwi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli.
Cummins claimed 5-57 in the second innings for example and sliced through the lower order, but it was India’s nemesis Travis Head’s nearly 140 off one ball that proved decisive.
Head scored match-winning centuries against India in last year’s WTC and 50-over World Cup finals, and it was a familiar sight for the left-hander to hit the Indian bowlers once again.
“Again, one of those momentum swings,” Cummins said in his review of the head knock on the batsman’s home ground.
“The game could have gone either way when he came out to bat and he took it right out of their hands.”
Australia will also be pleased with how opener Nathan McSweeney batted in his second Test, particularly his 39 in the first innings.
Number three Marnus Labuschagne also showed signs of regaining form with a patient 64.
After a shock defeat in Perth, Australia’s dominant win in Adelaide will lighten the mood considerably in the home camp before they travel to Brisbane for the third Test starting on December 14.
“Last week, we lost a Test match and we were probably the worst Test team ever,” Labuschagne said.
“This week, we finished the third day with the series 1-1, so we know how we’re going to go there.”
Run a drought.
A crushing defeat for the tourists in Adelaide would end the euphoria that had swept through the Indian camp after Perth.
Rohit’s run drought shows no signs of ending, even as he lands in the middle-order where he scores a three and a six.
The Indian skipper now has just one half-century and eight single-figure scores in his last 12 Test innings, including a zero against New Zealand in Pune.
It was a batting apocalypse from India in Adelaide, lasting just 81 overs in two innings with none of their batsmen making half-centuries.
In the absence of Mohammad Shami, who is playing domestic cricket in India after recovering from an ankle injury but is not yet considered Test fit, India’s bowling looked to rely heavily on the genius of Jasprit Bumrah.
India will be tempted to replace Rohit and opener KL Rahul in the batting order in Brisbane.
“We are quite looking forward to it,” Rohit said of the third Test.
“We just want to go there and reflect on what we did in Perth, and also what we did last time we were here.”