Cricket: One of Big Three coming up short

Cheteshwar Pujara heads to the pavilion as India crumble (photo: ESPN Cricinfo/Getty Images)

It is extremely difficult – yet so easy – to understand why India is not setting the world on fire.  England trounced them 3-1 in the test series after losing the second test, making them look third-class.

Let’s have a look at India’s numbers in the past 12 months in regards to international matches (Test, ODI and T20I):

26 ODIS (back to the series against Zimbabwe, July-August 2013)

11 Tests (back to the West Indies series in November 2013)

5 Twenty20 Internationals (including 2014 WT20)

Cricket: India v Australia: Test Series Analysis and Review

Michael Clarke & MS Dhoni pose w/ the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
(from examiner.com)

Australia was thrown a curveball from the moment they stepped on to the sub-continent in February.  In the end that curveball proved to be the side’s ultimate downfall.

Batting and bowling failures alike culminated in a shocking (and at times horrifying) 4-0 series loss to India.

There are plenty of words to describe each test, each player, and each moment, but none more so than disappointing.  Even travelling with a team that had largely not played in Indians conditions before, Australia was rolled, crushed and decimated over the past month in a way no-one expected.