India set to change and charge in bid to win Sydney Test, retain Border-Gavaskar Trophy

CHENNAI: Even before the first Test began in Adelaide, India had lost the services of Bhuvneshwar Kumar (63 wickets in 21 Tests) and Ishant Sharma (297 in 97). Since then, they have lost Mohammed Shami (180 in 50), Umesh Yadav (148 in 48) and Virat Kohli (7318 runs in 87 Tests). That's 688 wickets and 7,318 runs to be precise.

To replace them in the squad, they added Shardul Thakur (zero wickets, 10 balls), T Natarajan (0 Tests), Mohammed Siraj (0 Tests), Navdeep Saini (0 Tests) and Shubman Gill (0 Tests). In between all this, they managed to be bowled out for their lowest ever Test score (36) in 88 years of playing the format.

Through all that churn, through all the setbacks, the visitors have played the kind of bloody-minded, elite-level cricket that's allowed them to retain hopes of keeping the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Forget the scoreline; it says 1-1 but barring one freak session, they have had the upper hand throughout the two matches. How did they do it? Attacking, unorthodox fields and changing the line while bowling, eschewing the tendency to play away from the body while batting and putting faith in greenhorns to come good.

The battle between R Ashwin and Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, in a microcosm, can sum the series so far. The former, who hasn't always delivered while playing away from home, has had both of them hopping up and down in discomfort. It's almost like an errant housefly disturbing their peace but escaping without getting caught. Here are the numbers to prove this point: to the pair, he has sent down 120 deliveries, given 45 runs, conceded one boundary and dismissed them four times.

To borrow a phraseology from the Nathan Lyon and Dale Steyn school of aggressive small talk, Ashwin has cut the heads of the snake, rendering the rest of the body ineffective. Ashwin's effectiveness (he leads the wickets (10) column with Pat Cummins) was touched upon by Ajinkya Rahane in the pre-match press conference. "He is always looking to learn new things," the skipper said. "He has good skills but is always looking to learn new things and that's what makes Ashwin great. I hope that he continues for the next two Tests and do the job for us." This battle, one suspects, will be the key to winning the third Test. It's a point multiple members in the Australian camp — Matthew Wade, Justin Langer and Tim Paine — have also addressed in the last few days.

Even if the inclusion of the proactive David Warner could help the the hosts, the visitors seemingly have multiple plans up their sleeves. Unlike in ODIs, Warner likes to bunt the ball and scamper between the wickets as a means to get going in the longest format. Watch out for these avenues being cut, especially in the early part of his innings. Whether Saini, who will make his debut, and Siraj,
who has played one Test, will be able to complement Jasprit Bumrah at the top will be one of the key subplots.

With respect to the Indian batting, Rahane must be hoping the addition of Rohit Sharma, who will open with Gill, can stem the tide of early wickets. The average first and second wicket partnerships across the four innings has been 5.75 runs (0, 7, 0 and 16) and 26 (8, 32, 61 and 3). That's effectively 2/32, a situation they had rather avoid.

With rain and overhead cloud conditions coming into the equation, at least on the first two days, Sydney promises to be yet another fascinating Test. The incentive for India is simple: win and they will retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.