Golden generation set for final battle

The survival of anything depends on a variety of factors, ranging from miniscule to mammoth. When cricket began in 21st century, it was in search of a new identity after being rocked by the match fixing saga, involving some well-known faces in the game.

Amidst the troubles, cricket found a new identity, from two different parts of the world with their own way of playing the game. India and Australia had featured in some great matches in the seventies and eighties, but the matches never developed the requisite fire to develop into a rivalry.

All that changed in 2001, when India produced a comeback for the ages to beat Australia 2-1 at home. ?A range of different type of players made the series what it was. From the combative nature of Mathew Hayden and Harbhajan Singh to the silken yet shy VVS Laxman, driving Shane Warne with and against the turn, to produce one of the greatest innings seen in living memory.

Since that summer, the quality of cricket has only picked up each time both these teams have strode out to the middle. At the heart of the battle have been the players, who have ensured that a bilateral contest between these two sides gets spoken and watched in both countries and around the world. Like previously, the current battle will also be defined by the players and with the next series only lined up in early 2027, we could well be seeing a farewell of sorts for a golden generation of players.

The current generation of stars- Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and Steven Smith and Nathan Lyon-first squared off in 2014-15 when India visited Australian shores. The series was defined by the magical batting of Smith and Kohli, but also the performance of Lyon in Adelaide, where he dragged Australia back in the game and helped them win a tight contest on the last day.

Nearly three years later, Smith showed that he was not just a flat track bully with a searing second innings hundred on a square turner in Pune that put Australia in front and India on the mat early on in a series at home. But that is when Ashwin and Jadeja decided to up their game and in one of the best Test matches in Bengaluru helped India square the series before playing a role in the series win at Dharamsala. This was the last great series involving the two as 2018-19 saw Smith miss out due to a ban imposed on him, but it proved to be, what many thought at the time, as India’s greatest overseas Test triumph since Independence.

But little did anyone know, there was more to come. Three years later, India returned to Australia and in one of the most extraordinary team performances of the 21st century won a second straight series on the back of performances from several newbies like Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj. After two tours that hasn’t seen the best of either of above-mentioned players, one hopes that fans are third time lucky and get to see their best, this time around.

Even as the focus remains on those who are there, a deserving mention must be made about the one player who has defined this series in the last few years. In these modern, fast scoring times that Test cricket seems to be thriving in, Cheteshwar Pujara can come across as a outlier, a misfit to the modern style of play. Yet, Josh Hazlewood was quick to point out how big a role he had played in India’s success Down Under.

“I am happy that Cheteshwar Pujara is not here. He is obviously someone who bats time and spends a lot of time at the crease and makes you earn his wicket every time. Has done really well in Australia on previous tours,” Hazlewood said on Friday.

India would hope that the golden generation can step up to fill the Pujara void while Australia will hope to make the most of his absence. Either way, the series feels the like the start of the end of a great generation of players, who will look to put in one last big effort in front of packed houses across Australia.

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