Both the newbies from India and Australia – KL Rahul and Joe Burns – had the worst possible start to their Test career. Before they could settle-in against their respective oppositions, they were sent back to the dressing room.
For them the silver lining was the way their team managements stood behind them. These two cricketers did a lot of hard work to reach the highest level, and sadly couldn’t have a dream start to their respective careers. Some consolation that both got support from where it was important – their teams.
Fortunately, Burns made his first Test half-century, on Day Two of the Sydney Test match, against the Team India and in doing so he made a statement that the Australian selectors were not wrong in picking him to represent Australia.
He came into bat when the hosts were already sitting on a pile of runs. That must have helped his cause as he was adding more insult to the jaded Indian bowling attack.
In comparison, Rahul was made to bat lower down the order in the last Test match in Melbourne primarily because the team wasn’t ready to expose a new entrant right at the top. Rahul went in late to the crease and wanted to hit the ball from the word go.
Firstly, he offered a catch which was dropped and caught out almost immediately. Even in the second innings, he couldn’t find his feet, resulting in a speculation whether he would play for India again, in the ongoing Test series.
But new captain, Virat Kohli, took a page out of his predecessor MS Dhoni’s book to back the newbie. And the fact that he supported Rahul didn’t backfire. India’s dependable, Murali Vijay, after losing the World Cup spot in the Indian ODI team, wasn’t in the best frame of mind and got out while chasing a wide delivery.
Mind it, India are still not out of danger with regard to saving the Test match. With Australia’s massive 572 for seven, India needed a good start, but lost the wicket of Vijay quite early. New one-down batsman Rohit Sharma did put all his experience into play to survive and keep the aggressive Aussies at bay, but it was Rahul’s approach at the crease, which caught everyone’s imagination.
At times Rahul looked like his namesake Dravid, who was incidentally commenting on air. The new kid on the block handled the pressure superbly and had answers to every question the Australian bowlers posed with the red cherry. Day three would pose fresh challenges for the young cricketer, but he looks quite cool and composed to handle whatever is thrown his way.
With India still trailing by 501 runs in the first innings, Rahul would have to come up with something special. This was the same batsman whose failures in the first two innings of his debut Test match had sparked a debate on the difference between international and domestic cricket. But Rahul could change it all. So far whoever has come into Indian cricket and made a mark, they could do it because of their performances in the domestic circuit and Rahul is no different. He is also a product of our domestic cricket.
Today if Australia’s Steven Smith could make consecutive four Test centuries, it’s not happened overnight. He showed promise, graduated to the highest level with some good performances and is now reaping the benefit of being one of the top batsmen in his team. Wouldn’t it be great to see this new Indian opener follow in Smith’s footsteps?
