If anything, India’s only jarring note on this tour so far has been its opening woes. Though the three specialist openers — M. Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and K.L. Rahul — have excelled individually, there has not been a single partnership of note between them. India’s last five opening partnerships have been 14, 12, 4, 3 and 2.
“I would rather see that there are also partnerships happening [in this series] at the top of the order,” said batting coach Sanjay Bangar, seeking to allay fears on the opening wicket blues. “You definitely want your openers to tide over the tough phase of playing the new kookaburra ball that does much in the first 15 overs. That has been a challenge. But having a different opener in every Test also plays a role.
“Because of injury, no opening batsman is playing there consistently. Had a particular batsman been playing, things would have been different. Rahul, who batted in the first Test, went on to get a hundred in the second. The more innings you get, the better position you are in to judge that. With a fresh opener in every Test, it becomes difficult to judge,” said Bangar.
True, India has had the misfortune of going into each of the three matches of this series with a different combination, but the record even before that is none-too-impressive.
Apart from the gigantic 283-run stand between Vijay and Dhawan against Bangladesh at Fatullah in June, in the 28 innings since the start of 2014, there have only been two stands of over 50. There have also been four scores in the 40s.
India has one more innings to turn the tide before Dale Steyn and Co. come calling in October.
