India vs Australia 4th Test Preview: Hoping we don’t get to see another two-and-a-half-day Test in Ahmedabad

Australia must be lauded for playing a brilliant game of cricket in Indore to make it 2-1 in the series after the drubbing they received in the previous two Test matches. To do that on a tough pitch makes the win extra special. Steve Smith’s side has provided the much-needed excitement in the series as we head into the fourth and last Test.

It is difficult to judge how the pitch will play in Ahmedabad, but one is assuming it will be like what one has seen in the past 3 games. Let’s be brutally honest as those (Indore) were extreme conditions for both the sides. Since the introduction of the World Test Championships, home wins have become even more crucial, and I think that’s being reflected on some of the surfaces.

In my view, two-and-a-half-day Test matches or three-day Test matches are not good for the health of Test cricket. I think that balance needs to be brought, looking at the future of Test cricket.

I understand that every Test side today looks at the place in the WTC final but at the same time, one must not play with the nature of Test cricket. The beauty of Test cricket is a great drama that unfolds in course of 4 or 5 days, the mental challenge, the test of skills. What makes Test cricket unique from all other forms of the game is the mental resilience you see over several days.

Test cricket really brings each player’s skills to test in five days. With the Test match finishing in 3 days, it is taking away the great demand for skills. Fans are being robbed of the theatre that is Test cricket. ICC needs to get things right and bring a balance.

I feel for all batters in this series, Indian or Australian. I get that the slow deterioration of the pitches in subcontinent is slightly different than other places but at the same time, watching the series, you feel like there is a ball with your name on it at any given time. To me, that’s not a great way to play a Test match series, irrespective of where you come from.

Playing cricket in India is a unique challenge and that challenge should never be watered down by bland pitches. Getting a balance to ensure the beauty of attritional cricket over 4/5 days is essential for this great game to thrive.

India Playing XI? Should they make changes for the 4th Test?

I would not make too many changes for the fourth Test as far as the Indian side is concerned. Shubman Gill was the right man to come in the third Test at the top of the order. The last thing India need to do now is make a change up at the top. Gill, for me, deserves a role in the side as I have stated in my previous articles. He must feature for India across formats for the form that he is in. I would also continue to play wicketkeeper and batter KS Bharat in the side. Many want him out because he has not scored many runs in the series but frankly, not many have. He has done well as a keeper but more importantly, the point is that the time to make major selection changes has gone.

The only change I would want to see in India XI is inclusion of Mohammed Shami. No real changes apart from that.

Like he showed in the last match, Cheteshwar Pujara will again be a key player for India in Ahmedabad. He was brilliant in that second innings to get a fifty and took the match into the fourth innings. One saw the right application and skills from India’s gritty No 3. He showed a great method to play the turn with varied bounce, using his feet to good use, coming down, clipping leg side to the spinners. He used immaculate defense to survive, and scored runs.

Where Australia won the third Test?

I think the key moment in the game in Indore was the stand between Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne. After losing the toss, Australia did well to bowl out India for 109 on that tough pitch but my first thoughts were when Australia came to bat were that like the first two Tests, we were going to see Australia again struggle against spin. But the resilience of Khawaja and Labuschagne was there to be seen as they stitched up what turned out to be a match-winning partnership in the end.

That first-innings stand between the two really set Australian up for win. They applied themselves and got the results. Khawaja was excellent at taking control of the proceedings and support from Labuschagne was fantastic to watch.

Khawaja scoring important runs with injury to David Warner was a real lift for them. Not to forget, the combination of Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc brought more balance to the side. Starc gave them another good option apart from spin and he did provide breakthroughs when a partnership looked to be developing. The combinations fell in nicely for Australia first time in the series as they battled through injuries. Steve Smith’s captaincy was tactically quite  astute too. One must say that things aligned themselves well for Australia this time, but I still feel that match-winning moment was the Khawaja-Marnus stand.

Nathan Lyon was at his best with an eight-wicket haul. But India were still expecting him to do well. The hosts were more surprised by the two other spinners – Todd Murphy and Mathew Kuhnemann – and their support for Lyon. You look at their figures and they are miserly. They ensured that Indian batters were continuously kept under pressure. They did not bowl many loose balls and that stopped India from rotating strike regularly. Thanks to this pressure build-up, they got wickets too. Yes, it was a pitch that assisted the spinners, but they still had to bowl well, bowl fuller to get results. Kuhnemann and Murphy must be praised for sticking to great line and length.

Having said that, I am expecting a close battle in Ahmedabad. Indians would be more resolute than Indore. On the other hand, Australians would want to draw the series. But more importantly, I am hope we don’t get to see another two-and-a-half-day Test in this series.