Rohit Sharma’s Flop Show To India’s Inexperience Of Handling Pink Ball, Biggest Points From Adelaide

IND vs AUS 2nd Test: Australia have shocked India in the Pink Ball Test match which was played at the Adelaide Oval. After an emphatic victory in the series opener in Perth, India crumbled like a pack of cards as the Aussies were too good for them in the Adelaide Test match. After a drubbing by 295 runs in the first Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, Australia were under severe scrutiny but they have turned the tables and have left India clueless and begging for answers.

India had turned up in Adelaide after winning their Pink Ball warm-up match against the Prime Minister’s XI. The visitors were also bolstered by Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill’s return, but it didn’t reap the desired result. Australia are still undefeated in all the Pink Ball Test matches that have been played at the Adelaide Oval. Here are the biggest talking points of India’s lacklustre show before they take the field at the dreaded Gaba.

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Jasprit Bumrah has been India’s only saving grace so far in the series. Let’s not forget the fact that India’s star-studded batting order has failed to fire. Even if we don’t take the Adelaide Test into consideration, India experienced a similar kind of a batting collapse in the first innings of the Perth Test match, but it was Bumrah’s brilliance that allowed the Indian cricket team to win at the Optus Stadium in Perth. As of now, Bumrah looks completely on his own and he has been shouldering the majority of workload himself. India are in dire need of a bowler who can hold the fort for India.

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Rohit Sharma missed the first Test match of the series due to the birth of his second child. In Rohit’s absence KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the innings for India and put up a phenomenal show. After Rohit joined the Indian squad for the second Test, he decided to bat in the middle order. This plan completely backfired as Sharma managed to score only in single digits in both the innings of the Adelaide Test. Rohit’s form has become a matter of huge worry for Team India and he will have to fire if India want to defeat Australia and keep their World Test Championship Dreams Alive

This is one aspect which has continued to haunt India for a very long time. India have earned themselves this reputation of faltering on the big stages. Make no mistake, the Adelaide Test match was no small stage. India had the opportunity of defeating Australia for the first time in Adelaide in a Pink Ball Test match. Be it the ODI World Cup Final, the two WTC Finals or as a matter of fact the T20 World Cup Final that India won earlier this year, batting collapses have started to become a big highlight for the Indian cricket team.

The Pink Ball game is way different than a red ball game or a white ball game and it showed in Adelaide. India so far, have played five Pink Ball Test matches and have ended up losing two. Unfortunately, both these Test matches were played in Australia at the Adelaide Oval, one of them producing the dreaded 36 all-out. Indian batters got exposed as soon as the Pink cherry started to dart around and this shows that their Pink Ball Game is still undercooked.

The next match of the Border-Gavaskar series will be played in Brisbane and it starts on December 14, 2024. The fate of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series still hangs in balance as the series is level on 1-1.