India's Top-Order Collapses in Perth
The much-needed stability in the top order was nowhere to be seen on Friday as visitors India suffered a dramatic batting collapse during the first innings of the Perth Test. Cheteshwar Pujara's absence was felt further as, with him being a cornerstone in the middle-order success for India in their past tours of Australia, the visitors struggled to cope with the fierce pace attack of Australia.
Pujara's Leadership Role in India's Past Triumphs
The situation was aptly summarized by former England cricketer and commentator Mark Nicholas when he said, "Pujara is the obvious miss." Having formed the backbone of back-to-back Border-Gavaskar Trophy successes during the 2018-19 and 2020-21 tours, Pujara has long been known for his ability to anchor the innings and wear down Australian bowlers. In both of those series, Pujara was the rock upon which India built their success, providing vital support for others to capitalize on.
During the 2018-19 series, Pujara was India's top scorer, making 521 runs from 1258 balls, including three centuries and a half-century. He frustrated Australian bowlers with his unrelenting presence at the crease and set a platform for his team. During the 2020-21 series, his 271 runs off 928 balls proved important for the series victory that India had won.
India's Struggles Without Pujara
With Pujara missing out in the 2024 Perth Test, India found it tough on a pacer-friendly pitch at Optus Stadium. Stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah called the right side of the coin and elected to bat. But India's top-order folded badly under pressure. By the time they had lost half the side for just 59 runs, it was evident how much Pujara's soothing touch was missed.
KL Rahul, who was supposed to consume doing the hard yards and frustrate the Australian bowlers much like Pujara in previous tours, became a victim of Mitchell Starc's delivery after facing 73 balls for just 26 runs. A precise delivery by Starc found the edge off Rahul's bat, which was safely caught by wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
The rest of India's top-order crumbled similarly. Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed for a duck after just 8 balls, while Devdutt Padikkal failed to score after facing 23 balls. Josh Hazlewood sent Virat Kohli, who has been in superb form in recent months, back for just 5 runs.
Middle-Order Failures and Rishabh Pant's Resilience
The middle order did little better, as Dhruv Jurel and Washington Sundar succumbed to Mitchell Marsh for 11 and 4 runs, respectively. On the shoulders of wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant weighed the responsibility of stabilizing this innings, supported by the debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Pant showed a mix of caution and aggression, but was lucky to have been dropped by the Australian captain Pat Cummins on 25. The duo took India through the 100-run mark, but at the time of filing this report, India were in a spot of bother at 114/6 in 42 overs with Pant on 36 and Reddy on 22.
A Team in Transition
The absence of Cheteshwar Pujara has thus made India desperate to have a batsman who will anchor the innings, frustrate the opposition with resilience and grit. Immense talent in the team notwithstanding, this collapse served as a grim reminder how invaluable a dependable middle-order batsman could be when the top order fails.
Still an active cricketer, Pujara is now part of the Star Sports commentary panel, but for a team trying to rebuild its momentum on foreign soil, his absence from the playing XI is irksome. India will be happy to find a replacement for the hunger he has created at the top and hope that there are no more collapses in the further sessions of the Test match.
For now, all eyes will be on Pant and Reddy to lead India's recovery and prevent further damage in what has been a challenging start to the Perth Test.