Why no Ashwin? As MS Dhoni and his men came out to defend a paltry total of 128 runs, it was surprising to see no R Ashwin into the attack. While the Indian pacers got their lion’s share, Dhoni’s CSK teammate was seen standing in the slip cordon. Ashwin took two wickets at a much lower economy than the likes of Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav in the first innings. And, on the 5th day Brisbane pitch where ball was getting good bounce, Ashwin could have spun the web around Australians, who looked vulnerable. Ishant Ran out of partners Ishant has looked the pick of the bowlers so far on the tour Down Under. He might not have the pace and bounce of Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron but his three trips Down Under have certainly made him a thinking bowler. In the second innings, he accounted for three top-order wickets but didn't get enough support from the other other end. The Dressing room confusion The 'last moment' decision to send Virat Kohli ahead of Shikhar Dhawan, who injured himself during warm-up, created a lot of confusion. While Dhoni too agreed that there was unrest in the dressing room, it reflected in the middle. Kohli was in a rush, his wicket triggered a collapse and India could never recover from that. The Triple disappointment Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane form the core of Indian batting. But as the crunch situation beckoned in Brisbane, both the Mumbai cricketers surrendered meekly. While Rohit was too much interested in the verbal altercation with Johnson, Rahane clearly lacked the technique of containing the bounce. Rohit needs to walk the talk while Rahane must do justice to his talent. Cheteshwar Pujara too looked uncomfortable to the bounce before throwing his wicket away after surviving the initial struggle. These three needs to sort themselves out if India want to level series in Sydney and Melbourne.
