Australian Tour 2nd Test - India lose Brisbane test, so?

Statistician Mohandas Menon has an interesting tweet in the morning today

During this series, India have lost wickets by the dozen

• Adelaide Test
• 77/6 in 22.4 overs
• 73/8 in 18.1 overs
• Brisbane Test
• 87/6 in 24.1 overs
• 148/9 in 38.3 overs

This batting slump has overcome the good start provided by the batsmen like Vijay (again) and Rahane, Kohli failed this test match after his twin centuries while Dhawan came well in the second innings. Rohit Sharma, Chet Pujara and MS Dhoni would do well to introspect further on their game and see where they have to improve for the next test. In fact, I am not so sure if Rohit has to play the next test at all! Rohit has his list of chances but so far, nothing to prove his presence in the playing eleven. 

Murali Vijay played a great knock in the first innings - a knock that would rank high in Indian test cricket in terms of endurance and effectiveness. If only the Indian team could manage Mitchell Johnson better in the second innings, they could have inflicted a record defeat on the Aussies in the test match - look at the Aussie performance while chasing a paltry score. Definitely, another 60-70 runs on the board would have shaken them big time. 

Where the Indians faltered was during the first innings of the Australian innings. After getting the first six wickets, the Indian bowlers tried to repeat the dose that was given to Brad Haddin. Obviously, they couldnt deliver well and what happened was that the last four wickets doubled the score. This meant that the Australian team not only overtook the Indian team but also gained a healthy 97 run lead. Ishant Sharma as the pack leader should have guided his colleagues better. Maybe MSD should have put in a word when the match was slipping away. Maybe Ashwin was a better option to bowl at that time. The match moved away from India so fast that they were caught napping. 

The second innings saw the Indian bowlers grab few wickets and put doubts in the Aussie batsmen. They will try to leverage this for the next test match but the think-tank should definitely look to bringing back Bhuvi for Aaron and Raina for Rohit.

The margins of victory have been narrow than ever before - will the next match see the Indians strike a victory? Let us hope so.