India’s tour of Australia has already witnessed its first retirement, with Ravichandran Ashwin hanging his boots from the international arena. While speculations about Rohit Sharma quitting Test cricket have gained momentum as he missed the final game in Sydney. As India lost the game by 6 wickets, which basically sealed all hopes for them to reach the World Test Championship final, a moment between head coach Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli went viral on social media.
In the photo, Gambhir is seen embracing Kohli while awaiting the post-match presentation; the latter’s future in the Test squad has become a concern for fans after yet another disappointing outing in Australia. The struggles of the batting star have raised questions on whether he, too, is contemplating retirement.
Australia won the five-match series 3-1 and confirmed a spot in the World Test Championship final against South Africa, starting at Lord’s from June 11 to 15. An improbable target of 162 runs set, the onus was an onerous one, particularly with new Test captain Jasprit Bumrah nursing back spasm that restricted his bowling. Once Kohli led the team onto the field, it was a given that the total would be a challenge to defend.
Bumrah, man of the series for his phenomenal haul of 32 wickets, could hardly solace in that individual achievement once the overall performance of his team has been so good. Prasidh Krishna 3/65 in 12 overs) and Mohammed Siraj 1/69 in 12 overs), on the day, were merely peripheral figures compared to Bumrah as Australia rushed home in just 27 overs in an unblemished chase.
Usman Khawaja 41, Travis Head 34* and debutant Beau Webster 39* sealed the win with aplomb as the tour ended on a grim note, having exposed deep batting chinks and an overdependence on Bumrah.
And things only got worse as Bumrah pulled out of the match due to discomfort during the morning warm-up. Australia, led by Scott Boland’s 6/45 and Pat Cummins’ 3/44, then bowled India out for 157 in 39.5 overs. Apart from Rishabh Pant’s fighting 61 and Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 22, the other nine batsmen mustered only 74 runs between them, reflecting how the team has fared in the series.
