Final Word
Adam Collins in India and Geoff Lemon of the ABC Down Under
Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon wrap up the India v Australia series
After a close-fought series the boys from Down Under regret that it all ended so meekly for the Aussie tourists... Adam Collins: I can’t believe it’s over really. Just like that. The slow build to one of those rare finales in a proper-length series that we get maybe once every few years. And Australia managed to give it away in a session. Doesn’t feel right. Geoff Lemon: I’ve been allowing myself a bit of disappointment, but also feeling like that’s self-indulgent. Not disappointment in a partisan sense, but that such a competitive series, neck and neck to the halfway point of the last game, slipped away to a foregone result. It was an anti-climax, setting India just over 100, where if that target had been even 200, we would have had an all-time classic ending to a classic series. But then the nature of that whole series makes the complaint a bit churlish. AC: You wouldn’t have seen Ajinkya Rahane coming out at 46-2 and playing IPL slap shots over the rope at cover, that’s for sure. It really deserved a crazy, single-digit result to be spoken of for years. Adelaide ’93, Edgbaston ’05. But still, from an Australian perspective it is impossible to believe this is the same team as Galle in August, or Hobart in November. They’ve legitimately earned respect. Not a bad effort on the toughest tour in cricket. GL: I was in Sri Lanka, and the body language alone... it was so evident how no one but Mitch Starc had any clue how to be effective. Partly the technical stuff, partly the mental side, the patience game. Fast forward nine months and key members have cracked the code. Sniffer Smith, of course, dramatically. But also Lyon. O’Keefe. Cummins. Hazlewood. Handscomb. Renshaw, for a while. Shaun Marsh, in glimpses. Even Matthew Wade kept better than expected and had a couple of important knocks. AC: Yeah, dramatic improvements for all but a few. With more to come, given they lacked the assuredness to put the foot down and take India out of games after going one up. They had those chances. But that should, if they stay the course, come with experience. Let’s single out Lyon. How many times has his career been over? Pretty much once a series, every series he’s played. Even after 8-50 in Bangalore, he could well have been bowling for his spot again in Dharamsala. GL: It seems more like once a Test. The coach isn’t always his most vocal supporter, but this time Lehmann said Lyon’s four-wicket burst in that first innings was the best of his career. Bangalore’s big numbers couldn’t seduce him, because this spell was all about dragging Australia into a dominant position after India’s good start. In the end, the Aussies just couldn’t finish that off. I suspect Renshaw was mentally exhausted by so late in the tour, and that’s why we saw those two key slip chances go down. AC: The poor bloke had the worst Test imaginable. Realistically, he takes Saha late on day two, Australia go in with a comfortable first-innings lead. That probably swings the series. A double failure with the bat. It was his 21st birthday on the day they lost, and he still had a smile on his face. He’s a good egg. You know who else is? Steven Peter Devereux Smith. I am looking forward to
the ICC re-calculating their rankings over the next few days, as I’m pretty sure he’s going to jump into second or third spot all time behind Bradman. The response to his dismissal in the second dig nearly warranted the same “He’s Out!” headlines as the Don on Ashes tours of old. Freak show. Then people back home whacking him for getting hot under the collar in the change rooms when he couldn’t imagine he was being lip-read. Bit bloody stiff if you ask me. GL: Or poor old Wade getting stitched up by the BCCI trawling through the stump mic recordings and punching it out through official channels? Pretty unhelpful. So was James Sutherland having pot-shots at Kohli on radio just after getting home from a peace-andlove tour. The off-field stuff continues to detract, which is sad, even though it also spiced the main dish. But it’s lucky that Virat doesn’t have any current Aussies in his IPL team, now he says they’re not friends anymore. He does have Watto though, who I reckon will just dish out a Big Rig-sized cuddle until poor Kohli’s heart grows three sizes. AC: It will certainly test the notion that the IPL is the biggest love fest in cricket. Adam Gilchrist once said that the 2001 thriller gave those Australians the belief they could come back next time and win it then. Sure enough. Most of Smith’s side will still be kicking about next time, the bulk of them their in their prime as well. Sure, there are a couple of Ashes series to worry about between now and then, but as they say in football circles, sometimes you have to lose a big one before you can win one. GL: And how about the mettle of this Indian team? After nine Tests on the spin, you could forgive them Pune. After Pune, and the first half of Bangalore, you could have forgiven them letting it slip. But they fought back with all they had and in the end crawled over the line. A hell of a team. The step to greatness now is winning overseas. And Kohli wants that. He wants it bad. AC: Sure does. Hard to think anyone involved won’t leave nourished. It was a pleasure to cover it throughout. But must dash, my flight is being called. Thanks India. Let’s do this again some time.