Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli (Photo: Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images) In their history of 1,068 ODI matches, India have suffered five whitewashes in bilateral series — 1983 vs. West Indies (5-0), 1989 vs. West Indies (5-0), 2006 vs. South Africa (4-0), 2020 vs New Zealand (3-0) and 2022 vs South Africa (3-0 vs South Africa). Saturday could be the sixth unless head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill come together at the venue where India have suffered 16 losses out of 19 against Australia — the Sydney Cricket Ground.Sydney was the venue where Virat Kohli last played for India in Tests. It was also where Rohit Sharma dropped out of the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year, never to play for India in white again. If the raised gloves, an act of silent appreciation from the grateful Adelaide crowd during his walk back to the pavilion after registering his second duck in a row, was any indication, then Sydney could be the last time the Aussies could see Kohli live in India colours.
Rohit Sharma’s record knock vs Virat Kohli’s duck | India vs Australia 2nd ODI
It was the same venue where he infamously flashed the bird to an offensive section of fans during his first visit in 2011.BGT aside, Rohit Sharma will have fond memories in Australia’s busiest city. He is the only player in the Indian squad who was part of both the wins India achieved over the Aussies at the SCG. In the first CB Tri-Series final in 2008, he hit an 87-ball 66 and shared a 123-run stand for the fourth wicket with Sachin Tendulkar (117*) to help India chase down 240.In 2016, as the established white-ball opener, Rohit scored a 108-ball 99 and added 97 with man-of-the-match Manish Pandey (104*) to help India avoid the fade and chase 331 with two balls to spare.This match also marked the international debut of the legendary Jasprit Bumrah. He was only selected to play the three-match T20I series that was to follow the ODIs, but with an injury-plagued bowling attack, Bumrah literally had to get off the plane, put on his bowling shoes and play. He promptly hit 2 for 40 from his 10 overs.Bumrah will be in town again, having landed with the T20 squad on Friday. But don’t expect any favors this time. He will be there for T20Is only.And truth be told, the combinations India have put together in the two ODIs Down Under and the tactics they have used do not deserve any favours. Assembling the batting line-up by picking three all-rounders and thinning the bowling resources and having match-winners like Kuldeep Yadav warm the bench was a strategy that was bound to backfire on Australia’s firmer and truer surfaces.Harshit Rana may have had a buccaneer contribution with the bat in Adelaide and may have bowled incisively in his first spell in which he got Travis Head, but the way his pace dropped when he returned for the second spell, with his execution of slower cutters all around, making him cannon fodder for Mitch Owen, suggests he still doesn’t have the India formats in him to to play. A few more kilometers in the legs playing domestic cricket can be the way to go.India may look to use Prasidh Krishna, a tall operator who fits the bill, to replace Rana, and with the series now over, they could go all out and try Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top. The team management should also think about making optimal use of KL Rahul at No.6.Axar Patel is a fantastic cricketer with many skills but he is no Brian Lara or Yuvraj Singh to consistently get to No. 5 on surfaces that are useful for bowlers. Perhaps the better choice is Rahul, who averages 56.47 in 31 innings at this venue and has a strike rate of 96.36 there. India’s depth in white-ball cricket thanks to the IPL is often the envy of teams around the world. In Adelaide, the Aussies showed that the Big Bash is no slouch as a stable of talent. Matt Short (Adelaide Strikers), Cooper Connolly (Perth Scorchers) and Mitch Owen (Hobart Hurricanes) silenced their IPL counterparts.India’s record in bilateral ODIs after the 2019 World Cup has not been great. They have lost series against New Zealand (away), South Africa (away), Bangladesh (away), Sri Lanka (away) and Australia (twice – away and once at home).It’s time for the bragging to end. There’s a lot to do.
