Boxing Day Test: What do India need to do at the MCG?

Irrespective of where your loyalties lie when you sit down to partake of the modern day spectacle that is the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, it was tough to watch what transpired on that rain-hit final day’s play in Brisbane and not feel like it is the Indian cricket team that left the Gabba with something resembling a spring in their step. 

Of course, thanks to that amount of rain and bad light delays combined, a draw meant that India averted what looked for much of the third Test as being certain defeat. And a draw means that the BGT is still locked at 1-1 heading into the Boxing Day Test next week. But what could potentially be decisive in how things go down at the MCG is Australia’s second-innings effort with the bat on day five at the Gabba. 

Maybe the madness across 18 overs wasn’t entirely planned, but Australia won’t admit it. Barring the peach of a delivery from Jasprit Bumrah that cleaned up Usman Khawaja for another low score, the manner in which Australia’s batsmen flung their bats at the ball on an up-and-down fifth day pitch once more underlined their collective fragility, and that shambolic innings might just have injected into India’s bowling a sense that more of that is possible in Melbourne and Sydney, venues where batting has traditionally been the easiest. 

When you quickly reduce Australia to 33/5, even if an attacking approach targeted towards a declaration is bought into, there are big gains to be had. Bumrah has been a lone warrior for this ragged Indian bowling attack all series – he has 21 wickets at 10.90 apiece in the series – but what Akash Deep gained from taking the wickets of Nathan McSweeney and Mitchell Marsh after a frustrating first innings is palpable. For the erratic Mohammed Siraj, getting Steve Smith and Travis Head, the two centurions from day two, must have been like manna from the heavens. Throw in five catches to Rishabh Pant, and sloppy series behind the stumps has almost been forgotten. 

In short, India walked away from the Gabba the happier of the two teams. Now, looking at the Boxing Day Test, if India can find a way to pick a better XI than they did in Brisbane, they might just end up being 2-1 in the series heading to Sydney for the New Year’s Test. 

For the record, India have not lost a Test match at the MCG since 2011. They drew there in 2014 and won in 2018 and 2020. That is plenty of reason to believe in a hat-trick of wins there, even if the MCG maverick Scott Boland looms as a huge threat in that quest. 

The management will be aware of Australia’s batting struggles this series, and thus the kind of bowling unit they choose for the MCG is critical. Over their past three visits to the iconic stadium, India have taken 56 wickets via an assortment of pace bowlers and 22 from spin, the only two slow bowlers to find success there being the now retired R Ashwin (22 wickets) and Ravindra Jadeja (8). 

Bumrah has 15 wickets from two visits to the MCG, but he needs support of a level not yet seen during this tour. Siraj has been unpredictable, and if not fully fit he might need to be replaced. Akash sat out the Perth and Adelaide games but based on what we saw at the Gabba, he looks the best man to share the new ball with Bumrah at the MCG. Jadeja held his own with the bat in his only innings in Brisbane, but as a bowler he looked rusty. India only have one other spinner to turn to now, and that is Washington Sundar. 

What India cannot afford is another poor first innings. As thrilling as that tenth-wicket partnership between Bumrah and Akash looked based on visuals from the Indian dressing room when the follow-on was averted, slumping to 7/2, 22/3 and then 74/5 at the Gabba cannot have done anything to make India’s misfiring batsmen – KL Rahul excluded – feeling any better. 

Shubman Gill’s stock continues to dip drastically in SENA countries, and a spirited innings of 91 in Brisbane almost four years ago remains his only Test fifty there. The once dominant Virat Kohli cannot seem to resist playing at deliveries outside off stump, Rohit Sharma looks a walking wicket whenever he takes guard at the crease and Pant’s returns in the series show just how thorough Australia have been in their planning. All these batsmen can take a cue from Rahul and Jadeja, who at the Gabba showed what application and patience can bring. 

If India can put a good total on the board in Melbourne, half their problems should go away. You cannot fall behind in Tests in Australia like India have, and Bumrah cannot salvage pride each time. A bit of application, a few slices of good luck, and a repeat of Melbourne history could see Rohit and his team heading into 2025 with an even bigger spring in their step.