You don’t really know if he was being facetious but Ricky Ponting, when all the fuss was over the next Ashes, suggested India and Australia try out Bazball in the World Test Championship final. It looks like all of England and most of their rivals are preoccupied with the traditional Ashes war-minus-the-shooting seasonal high point, at least to the extent the media in the two counties reflects popular reception and reactions. It would perhaps be wrong though to anticipate a malleable Australia when the WTC battle starts. After all, they in the none-too-distant past lost a series in India when tempers got frayed over allegedly designer wickets which favoured the hosts and angry exchanges followed. This time, the wicket will be neutrally made. Will that connote a psychological moment for India in the one-off match?
Australia certainly hope it will for after losing two successive series at home to India for the first time in history, when they found themselves on the slow and low-bounce wickets here, much of what they said hinted at an element of surprise at Indian dependence on an old ploy. “This isn’t what we do” was the burden of their message which, of course, glossed over their own batting infirmities. Australia were not the authoritative, aggressive, never-say-die combination they had once been, occasionally finding their own reputation a big burden to bear. Allan Border would have preferred a few side matches in England rather than none, though Australians think differently now. But even on a turning track, a spinner has to get it right in terms of line and length. Equally truly, a standard Test pitch will force Australian batsmen not to take too many things for granted. That could hit Bazball for an Indian Premier League six in the WTC summit showdown, when both sets of combatants will find themselves obliged to plug batting holes for the usual reasons inclusive of injury-related absences and form slumps. Twenty20 successes in India may not mean all that much in the most testing of formats if only because a batsman’s defence will be central to his performance.
An Australian edge in pace bowling has been predicted but India have won two away series against them with their pacemen doing quite well. India may miss Jasprit Bumrah but not only is he someone India have done without for quite some time now but, also, his unusual bowling action will always leave him vulnerable to injuries. If they happen upon the right attacking balance, shortcomings can be overcome, though it may be difficult to achieve without Ravichandran Ashwin, the best spinner in the contemporary global game, in the mix, regardless of the pundit’s prescription. India are well-equipped, despite batting deficiencies, but collective confidence will go a long way towards determining the result.