World Cup winner India returned empty-handed from the Commonwealth Bank ODI triangular series here.
Truth to tell, the side did not deserve to qualify for the finals. India finished with the lowest batting average — 28.01 — among the three teams in the league phase. And its bowling average of 38.94 was the highest.
If India's triumphant campaign in the same competition down under in 2008 was vibrant, the side lacked inspiration this time around. And this team is extremely dependent on conditions.
It's no coincidence that the best Indian batting displays in the tri-series came in Adelaide and Hobart where the pitches were batsman-friendly. In fact, the surface at Hobart's Bellerive Oval could have been straight out of the sub-continent.
On pitches with some juice in them — at the 'Gabba, the SCG or the MCG — the Indian batting was ruthlessly exposed... even in ODI cricket.
The challenge before the Indian batsmen in this tri-series would have been to excel against the Australian pace attack on lively tracks. But then, the Indian batting was simply ripped apart by the home pacemen.
Lack of character
In a revealing piece of statistics, India made 151 at the MCG, 178 at the 'Gabba and 165 at the SCG against the Australians. To put it mildly, the batting lacked character.
This is precisely why the team's powerhouse batting display on a run-filled surface at Hobart against Sri Lanka should not be allowed to cloud our judgment vis-a-vis India's performance in the series.
Kohli, who has fight and promise, topped the Indian batting averages with 373 runs at 53.28. Gambhir notched up 308 runs at 44, but a majority of his runs (two 90s and a half-century) were made in Adelaide and Hobart. Against, pace, bounce and movement on the other tracks, he too was found wanting.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (205 at 51.25) continues to be a potent finisher. And his innings of 56 at the 'Gabba against the Aussies was the highest individual Indian score in the three batting collapses against Australia. No other Indian scored a half-century in these matches.
Need for sporting tracks
Most pitches in India are slow and lack good and consistent bounce. Unless India prepares sporting tracks for its domestic competitions — this is vitally important — the country's future as a cricketing force away from the sub-continent could be bleak.
India needs to prepare pitches such as the one used for the Mumbai-Karnataka Ranji Trophy final at Mysore in 2010. Sadly, one hardly gets to see such tracks for domestic cricket during the critical, formative years of our budding players.
If the Indian batting was a disappointment here, the bowling was a let down as well.
The most successful Indian bowler, Vinay Kumar, was only seventh in the list of wicket-takers — he had nine scalps at 32.11. Vinay is a trier, but is hardly the kind of bowler who can be the spearhead.
With Zaheer Khan battling fitness concerns, the Indian attack lacked a leader. Umesh Yadav has pace and heart but lacks consistency.
The rest of the Indian pace attack was hardly of the threatening kind. And the spin bowling was nothing more than average.
Even if India had progressed to the finals, it might not have made much headway against Australia.
