Australians were always favourites

The odds were going to favour Pat Cummins & Co at the WTC final, not least because the all-round strength of their squad looked superior on paper, man for man

Let’s be honest—Australia were always going to win the WTC, played in June in England a few weeks after the IPL concluded. The odds were always going to favour them, not least because the all-round strength of their squad looked superior on paper, man for man.

Leaving patriotism and wistful thinking aside, if you compared the teams, man for man, on recent Test form, how many Indians make a combined Best XI? David Warner’s position would be up for grabs and perhaps Mitchell Starc. Personally, I would have found room for Ravichandran Ashwin purely because you simply should not even think of leaving out the No. 1 ranked bowler in the world, regardless of pitch conditions. Ashwin for Nathan Lyon is the only place that he could have fitted in.

Kohli not in Top 5

There will no doubt be howls of protest at the mere thought of Virat Kohli not making the list, but on pure Test batting form alone, in early-season English conditions, whose spot does he take in the Top-5? This is not a conversation about the contemporary greats, but merely an honest assessment of the best XI based on form and conditions.

Sunil Gavaskar has already dissected the Ashwin controversy. No need to re-hash that except to reinforce the view from Australia that Ashwin’s non-selection was greeted with a mixture of disbelief and relief. With five left-handers in the Top8, leaving aside his skill against right-handers, and his tenacious batting, the selection of Umesh Yadav or Shardul Thakur ahead of Ashwin is not justifiable, even without the benefit of hindsight. Is Lyon not also a threat to right-handers?

The injury list probably cancelled each other out. No Jasprit Bumrah, no Josh Hazlewood. One of India’s biggest losses happened months ago when Rishabh Pant met with his car accident.  Make no mistake—Australia fear Pant more than any other batsman in India. With all due respect to the nuggety KS Bharat, his selection throughout the Border Gavaskar series and in this one-off Test was a win for the Aussies. There was no X Factor to fear—Ishan Kishan may have made them nervous.

A comprehensive thrashing

India took the game deeper than the Aussies would have liked but 209 runs is still a comprehensive thrashing. Yes, India’s main seamers bowled without luck on the first day but I doubt that if the roles had been reversed, India would have been 327-3. That’s probably because Australia’s seam attack hit the deck a lot harder, relying on movement off the seam, banged in from a height. It’s a much more natural length for an Aussie, to be fair.

The low catch controversy needs to be addressed by all international players as a collective. Do they agree to take the word of the fielder as a general rule? If that is the case, it should apply to all countries. The Orwellian notion that all catchers tell the truth but some fielders are more trustworthy than others is where the seeds of discontent are sown. Likewise, this notion of accepting the third umpire’s decision—it will be interesting to see the reactions of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith if they were the victims of a similar dismissal. Would they be as philosophical or would there be the usual “woe is me” head-shaking that accompanies many of their dismissals?

If Shubman Gill’s pockets are lighter after the match referee considers his ill-advised Tweet, will he also be looking at Labuschagne’s habit of trying to influence the umpire when he gets rapped on the pads? The ghost of Orwell surfaces again…the ICC must not only be neutral but must be seen to be neutral.

Good sportsmanship

The upside? The game was played in excellent spirit without surrendering a fierce competitiveness. Apart from creating a new generation of millionaires, what the IPL has done is to take the heat out of the personal conflicts that has blighted previous encounters between these countries. It will be fascinating to see if Australia can maintain this excellence without the verbals when they take on England soon. I suspect old rivalries will run deep and bad blood will be spilt. Call me a cynic, but England don’t write cheques as big as India!

Michael Jeh is a Brisbane-based former first-class cricketer.

Also Read: Can India's 'Big Three' redeem themselves after seismic defeat during WTC final?

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