Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have not had a good time in the ongoing Test series against England. While Pujara is averaging a meagre 23.20 after five innings, Rahane’s average of 17 looks far worse. The recent failures of two of India’s most dependable batsmen, that too in home conditions, does raise concerns.
However, a more important question is whether we should really see their recent failures as ‘poor form’.
Both batsmen played important roles during India’s series victory Down Under. While Pujara amassed 271 runs during that tour with three fifties, Rahane scored 268 runs as well – at an average of just a shade under 40. Both of them have scored fifties in Chennai off against England. While Pujara made 73 in the first Test, Rahane scored 67 in the second match.
While Pujara has amassed just 43 in his last four innings, Rahane has scored just 18 in this series barring his knock of 67 in the second Test. These figures barely justify batsmen of their calibre, but at the same time one needs to understand that this series hasn’t been easy for batsmen at all.
Of the 15 players who have batted inside the top six in this series, only four – Rohit Sharma, Joe Root, Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli – average over 30. The tracks have offered assistance to spinners from Day 1, and have not made life easy for batsmen. While the top-order batters have still got to bat on fresh pitches, middle-order batsmen like Pujara and Rahane have not been as fortunate.
Indian batsmen are traditionally considered as good players of spin, but they have looked vulnerable when the conditions have been stacked against them, as has been evident over the course of this series. Quality bowling and challenging conditions have led to their downfall.
Could they have done better?
Probably, yes.
When lower-order batsmen like R Ashwin, Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar have thrived on these challenging tracks, Pujara and Rahane need to come up with better performances. There is definitely scope for improvement and probably.
However, their ongoing rough patch should not be seen as a concern at all. Despite his recent failures, Rahane remains India’s highest run-getter in the World Test Championship, with 1,068 runs at an average of 44.50 including three hundreds. That sums up how much he has contributed to the Indian side over the last couple of years.
As far as things for Pujara is concerned, among active Indian players who have scored at least 1,000 runs at home since his debut, only Kohli (52.74) averages more than his 46.81. This sums up how important his role has been in India’s home matches.
There is little doubt that they have failed in the last few outings, but they are experienced, and are hungry for runs too. In all probability they are likely to return stronger.