No end to India’s opening woes in build-up to Australia tour

Kolkata: Dhruv Jurel’s fighting 80 added some semblance of respect to India A’s first innings at the MCG on Thursday but the bigger question of who will partner Yashasvi Jaiswal at Perth should Rohit Sharma be unavailable for the first Test is yet to be abundantly addressed. The numbers so far are not inspiring as well.

In the first game at McKay, Abhimanyu Easwaran scored 7 and 12 while Ruturaj Gaikwad made 0 and 5. At the MCG on Thursday, Easwaran scored 0 while KL Rahul made 4.

The idea is understandable—India are trying permutations and combinations to find the best possible option. Easwaran was supposed to be the top pick. But sending Rahul to partner him sends a message that the management is keen on accommodating him for the Test series. Which makes some sense because Rahul had scored a hundred during the 2014 tour. But to make him open could be too big a gamble, that too at a venue like Perth. His dismissal on Thursday—edging a short of length delivery from Scott Boland that pitched and seamed away—doesn’t wish away the feeling too. Rahul had earlier caressed a boundary but that seemed an aberration in a very forgettable morning for India A.

Further compounding India’s worries is Easwaran’s returns. On a quick and green MCG pitch, Easwaran was squared up on his back foot to a short ball from Michael Neser that seamed and bounced to fly off the shoulder of his bat. Sai Sudharsan falling on the next ball, caught at second slip, meant Neser scalped a double-wicket maiden in the opening over before ending with 4/27. These aren’t unusual scenes for warm-up games in Australia, especially at the MCG. Expect Perth to be meaner though.

Four Tests is a brief sample size—even though Australia won all four, the lowest margin being 146 runs—but Perth’s Optus Stadium has been consistent in providing unpredictable bounce and seam throughout the duration of Tests. Rahul had opened the batting the only time India played at the new stadium, in 2018. He scored 2 and 0. Pakistan too found out the hard way last summer, getting dismissed for just 89 in the fourth innings, seven of those wickets going to fast bowlers. When asked later if he would want to roll up the Perth pitch and take it wherever they play, Pat Cummins had said: “Every week. It would be lovely.”

Trusting the bounce in Australia is anyway an issue for subcontinent batters, especially for those who don’t want to leave a lot. And since the Kookaburra’s pronounced seam makes the ball seam considerably, horizontal shots are also a strict no-no. The new Perth venue exaggerates all those factors even more, leaving batters with very few scoring options even with the old ball. “There’s some runs to be scored there but also it felt like as a bowler if you got in the right areas there’s something in it for the whole innings,” Cummins had said.

Every available statistic on Perth indicates that the job of opening the batting is cut out for visiting teams. And India’s predicament—contemplating handing a debut to Easwaran on the most difficult pitch in Australia—makes it all the more ominous. A more seasoned and reasonable option exists though in the form of Shubman Gill. Among all the openers tried by India since 2018, Gill has the best average of 51.80. His 91 at the Gabba is etched in history but also quietly encouraging are his scores in the other Tests—45 and 35* at Melbourne, 50 and 31 at Sydney. It underscores Gill’s skill in not only seeing off the ball but also actually making his starts count.

Gill has faced question marks though, most recently over his judgment on deliveries on the fourth stump. And while he was always somehow destined to bat at No 3, Gill has often found himself facing the new ball. Every time though, be it opening in Australia or in the Caribbean later in 2023 with Jaiswal, Gill has looked the part.

Eventful was his debut at the MCG in 2020, where he was repeatedly beaten by the fast bowlers, but Gill held his own to score 45 in a low-scoring game that India went on to win. And when Brisbane happened, India could have lauded themselves for finding an opener by accident. It feels like deja vu all over again, with India needing someone to open with Jaiswal at Perth, and perhaps on a regular basis after this World Test Championship cycle. Options seem limited right now, but not if India resort to the tried and tested.