Image Credit- getty
For a number of years, beating India in India has been regarded as the most difficult challenge in men’s Test cricket. The statistics support this assertion: India has an unmatched 40-4 win-loss record at home since the beginning of 2013, with Australia coming in second with 41-7.
India has demonstrated its dominance both with the bat and the ball. They averaged 44.05 runs per wicket with the bat and 23.30 with the ball from 2013 to 2020, during which time they had an incredible 28-1 win-loss home record. At home, both sides were the greatest of all. The only year throughout this time frame in which the Indian batters averaged less than 40 runs per calendar year at home was 2015.
However, that pattern has somewhat shifted after 2021. India’s batting average in 17 home Test matches during these four years has fallen to 33.40 from 48 peak in 2016 and 2020 (2020 really counts as 2019 because there was no Test cricket in India in 2020). India has fallen from the first spot to the sixth. India’s 12-3 win-loss record during this time suggests that they are still a formidable squad, just not as much as they were in the past.
India’s lower batting and bowling averages further suggest that the country’s batting environment is generally becoming more difficult. How much harder has it been to bat in India during the past four years than it was during a previous comparable period? Let the figures tell you the solution.
The total figures for India’s top seven hitters, both at home and away, have significantly decreased from 39.18 in the first period to 31.65 since 2021. India’s average was higher than Australia’s at 38.3 among teams that staged at least 10 Test matches between 2016 and 2020. The average has fallen to seventh place out of nine countries since 2021; the only two places where the top seven hitters have worse averages are the West Indies and South Africa.
The home hitters have been a major factor in the decrease of these averages in India. For a while now, Indian pitches and the SG ball have proven to be a challenging mix for batters from other countries, yet throughout these two times, their averages have only slightly decreased (from 28.51 to 26.12). Conversely, there has been a significant decline for India’s top seven, going from 54.43 to 38.30.
The batsmen haven’t taken advantage of home advantage as much as they did to in these four years, even if India has still been winning quite consistently: the top seven have averaged 38.3 at home and 34.78 away, a mere 3.52-point difference. Only Bangladesh and the West Indies have a smaller differential between the top nine teams.
The major cause of this decline in numbers is the batters who were the backbone of India’s middle order seeing a severe decline in form. Virat Kohli’s results have fallen to a single century in 11 matches and an average of 34.47 from 10 hundreds in 22 Tests at an average of 86.17. In a same vein, Cheteshwar Pujara’s average fell by nearly 57%, from 56.85 to 24.53. In 15 Tests since 2021, Rohit Sharma has amassed four hundreds, yet even with those scores, his average is still slightly below 45, down from 101.1 in the 2016–20 season.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is the lone batter who has had incredible home run totals over the past four years. In just five home tests, he has already scored two double hundreds, but none of the others have done it with such authority. However, Shubman Gill has demonstrated comparable results in his last seven home Test matches against Australia and England, scoring three hundreds and averaging over fifty.
The stark differences between the two periods are further shown by looking at the averages of batters against spin in each. The two batters that appeared in a respectable amount of innings during both times, Pujara and Kohli, are once again the most noticeable in decline. In the 2016–20 season, Kohli amassed 1342 runs against spin with 13 dismissals; however, since 2021, he has been dismissed by spinners 15 times for a total of only 454 runs. In a same vein, Pujara scored 1128 runs for his 13 dismissals of spin between 2016 and 20 but only 277 for his subsequent 12 dismissals after that.
Actually, compared to many specialised batsmen, all-rounders Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja have superior records against spin. With the exception of Ajinkya Rahane, every significant hitter averaged at least 48 against spin between 2016 and 2020.
The opposing batsmen haven’t outperformed India’s in terms of statistics against spin, despite these advancements. The difference between them has decreased, though: the Indian hitters are now just roughly 1.5 times as good as the opposition, down from over twice as excellent.
Although India’s recent home batting performance has been concerning, there is reason for hope given the form of the two players who will likely lead the team’s batting for the next few years. Jaiswal hit two double hundreds and averaged 89 in the series against England earlier this year, while Gill scored over 450 runs and averaged over 56. Compared to Pujara and Rahane’s previous home Test results, those are far greater returns.
India would expect more from their hitters than they have shown lately going into the five-Test home season. With substantial support from Axar Patel and Jadeja, the quintet of Rohit, Jaiswal, Gill, and Kohli might lead India back to batting supremacy at home if Kohli finds his rhythm.