[Oxy]

Parthiv
Mayank/Rohit
Pujara
Kohli
Rahane
Vihari
Pant
Bhuvneshwar
Kuldeep
Shami
Bumrah

These have to be the best available resources. Drop the walking wickets (openers). Strengthen the lower order batting with Bhuvi and play an attacking spinner.

It was just moronic to go with four Chris Martins this game.

[selfdrive]

My XI would be;
Mayank
Rahane
Pujara
Kohli
Vihari
Pant
Jadeja
Bhuvneshwar
Kuldeep
Ishant/ Shami
Bumrah

Did Rahane not open for Mumbai in first class cricket?

Originally Posted by Oxy

It was just moronic to go with four Chris Martins this game.

The Phantom usually bowled way better than 3 of our bowlers. Bumrah was just plain unlucky; I hope he doesnt go down the Ishant way

[NPV]

Vihari gets out, game almost over now just a matter of time

Repeat of first innings situation - Rishabh Pant batting with the tailenders!

Edit:Umesh Yadav still yet to score a score after facing 17 balls!

Edit 2:Rishabh Pant goes!

[vibbs]

I think the issue is not just with Batting. It is also the over all composition.
With 4 number 11 there is no way this team can give a challenge while batting last. Actually even in the first innings. See what Australia did with their last 3-4 batsmen.
They need to find a way to get Bhuvi in the team just for his lower end batting in tests. I don't think Umesh yadav picks himself in a test match overseas at Bhuvi's expense. Another thing that hurt us is lack of a spinner. Perhaps India got carried away with the pitch to think it will not favour the spinners. However Lyon proved them wrong. But we should also note that off late India have been uncharacteristically circumspect against spin bowling. So we don't know if adding Jadeja at the expense of a batsman would have helped much.

[avingodb]

This match will be over soon and I think the next 2 will only get more tough.
Aussies historically play different quality cricket in Boxing Day and in Sydney with huge crowds backing them. I hope they recover from this the India team!

[hemanth.anand]

The best touring team in the last 15 years has lost a match to the weakest ever host team down under. Teams selected on Egos, based on how good you are with captain, cheerleader coach have never performed and will never perform well. Have numerous examples in corporate companies, this is one more such example. of course all that matters for BCCI is money and I don't see anything changing.

[msdivy]

The 2 out of form openers have conjured up interesting numbers:

20.88 is the average opening stand between K L Rahul and Murali Vijay -- the lowest for any opening pair batting together at least 25 times in Test matches.

17 is the average runs added by India's first two wickets in away Tests in 2018, less than the average runs added by the opposition's last two wickets!

In the Perth test, there were four number 11s in the team. Adding the openers, there were 6 in the team who weren't expected to score. So taking just 5 batsmen, with 2 newbies among them, either Kohli was being brave or foolish.

It is a common mistake. Teams come in, look at the reputation of WACA, Perth, experience the bounce, drop their spinner and pick 4 or 5 fast bowlers. Those fast bowlers bowl short, waste their energy, time. Bowling short rules out bowled & LBWs. Later the hosts' bowl full, get the swing going and knock the visitors.

I cannot fathom how a spinner (Lyon) can take 8 wickets in the match against 'The World's Best Spin Playing Team' but the best spin team doesn't field a single spinner in the match

[samaspire]

So this is Australia's first win since March.
India is just doing what it is famous for - bringing back the dead - reviving careers and teams.

[suresh_gs]

Does BCCI lack the spine to question Kohli and Shastri on their team selection. Blunder after Blunder.

[selfdrive]

While it is alright to expect fans to keep faith and show patience, the established pattern in the Kohli Shastri alliance is of idiosyncratic selections.
Past teams were great because they had an established core that did well across the world in varied conditions. In this team, other than Kohli, Bumrah and Ashwin, I do not see anyone playing consistently. This has already affected the confidence of players like Rahul, Rahane and Pujara. To his credit, Pujara seems to have returned well, though he should not have been put in this situation

As hemanth.anand correctly pointed out, this unfortunately reminds us of how it pans out behind the scenes in the corporate world (at least the ITES part).
If we don't have a consistent team to speak about, how can it be the greatest in the last 15 years?

Think of any of the great teams and you are reminded of a group of players:
WI: Haynes, Greenidge, Richards, Richardson, Lloyd, Logie, Marshall, Holding...
Aus: Hayden, Langer, Ponting, M Waugh, S Waugh, Gilchrist, Warne, McGrath, Lee...
India: Sehwag, Gambhir, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman, Dhoni, Kumble, Srinath, Zaheer...

This team, anyone?

What rankles the most is that we have the team to win well, but we won't pick them

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by msdivy

.

I cannot fathom how a spinner (Lyon) can take 8 wickets in the match against 'The World's Best Spin Playing Team' but the best spin team doesn't field a single spinner in the match

We were the best when we had technically accomplished players combining their skill with the right temperament. Watch the previous generation play spin, over after over patiently if the situation demanded it.

Now we still have some technically sound batsmen, but barring a couple of them, everyone else can't bat 10 deliveries without being tempted to hoick a slog to 'express themselves', even if we're 5 down in the first session of a Test.

[SoumenD]

Its ironical how a once spin-powerhouse(India) goes in to play a match without a spinner and the opponent spinner wrecks it apart.

Am happy India lost , hope this would knock some sense into the team selectors. You just cannot keep both Jadeja and Ashwin out. Along with their spin prowess they are solid test batsmen as well, atleast they can hold on to their end supporting another top/middle order specialist batsman.

Even if they want 4 pacers, how can they keep out bhuvi instead of Umesh Yadav

This test we started at 0/2 and ended at xxx/6. So technically only 4 batsmen. Is Parthiv or Karthik a part of the squad? High time Parthiv is given the opening duties. He would be far better than the current folks. And maybe Rohit can be asked to join him as opener. Let him play his usual one-day game if test is too much, atleast he can get some quickfire 20-30 on board thereby seeing off the new ball for a few overs? Else maybe the newbie Mayank Agarwal can be tried, but please no more KL Rahul and M Vijay. They are walking wickets , totally clueless atleast in current form.Maybe they can get back to Ranji for sometime and get their form back.

And we should spare a thought for Hanuma Vihari as well. What a calm, composed campaigner. I can see him making wonderful strides in tests. He should be given more chances, rather than filling in the test team with talented but impatient IPL players.

My Team:

Parthiv/Karthik/Pant, Rohit, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Ashwin/Jadeja, Bhuvi, Ishant, Shami, Bumrah.

[PPS]

What really hurts is not the defeat but the manner of the defeat! Indian team was completely decimated by a big margin, atleast in the last test Australia got close & gave a good fight. That is all that an average Indian fan expects from its team.
I wonder after this defeat what Ravi Shastri has to say about his marbles(for the lack of a better word).

Originally Posted by vibbs

With 4 number 11 there is no way this team can give a challenge while batting last. See what Australia did with their last 3-4 batsmen.

When both our openers are so woefully out of form, cannot really blame our tail for the loss. Nobody had any expectations from them in the first place. Inspite of having 19 players in the squad, the team management cannot get the combination right.

Originally Posted by msdivy

Teams come in, look at the reputation of WACA, Perth, experience the bounce, drop their spinner and pick 4 or 5 fast bowlers. Those fast bowlers bowl short, waste their energy, time. Bowling short rules out bowled & LBWs. Later the hosts' bowl full, get the swing going and knock the visitors.

The match was lost on the very first day when Finch & Harris put on a big opening partnership.

I cannot fathom how a spinner (Lyon) can take 8 wickets in the match against 'The World's Best Spin Playing Team'

We no longer play spin well. Atleast that has been the case in the last several years.

[Oxy]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Am happy India lost , hope this would knock some sense into the team selectors.

Nothing will change unless Kohli is stripped off captaincy and Shastri gets the boot. Were we not "happy" that India lost in SA and England too, hoping that things will change in Australia? So the same rinse and repeat will continue. Kohli's and Shastri's goal seems to be to win one test per away tour, once that is achieved they can be proud of their best travelling Indian team. So brace yourself for 1-3 here, and expect this to be forgotten too once we smash WI or SL at home or when the IPL circus begins.

[redCherry]

Originally Posted by PPS

'The World's Best Spin Playing Team'

That's a Myth. Gone are the days when the fab-4 (+Veeru) would have spinners for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Before them also we had brilliant players. Once they are gone, I have never seen any of the other batsmen being anywhere close to them when it came to playing spinners.

Apart from that, here we are discussing, ruing the test defeat, but probably SOME of the stake holders (players and officials) might be thinking about IPL Auctions....

I don't like this IPL thing 1 bit (Just my opinion).