Kohli can end up with all batting records: Border

The Australian, who is in the city exactly 30 years after the famous tied Test, said it was one of the greatest games in the sport. “It is a shame that it wasn’t televised as much as cricket is televised now. Both teams had heroics and incredible performers in hot and humid conditions. Scoring 347 on a fifth-day pitch was phenomenal with the Test going to the second last ball. The way Kapil Dev in the first innings and Sunil Gavaskar in the second innings played set the match up. There was a period when India needed about 16 runs with three wickets in hand and I thought we would end up losing, but we hung in there. When Maninder Singh was adjudged leg-before, we were relieved with the result. I would label that Test as a ‘winning tie’,” he reminisced.

Border heaped praises on Indian captain Virat Kohli and said the real test for Kohli would be in how he can lead the team in alien conditions. “I like him (Kohli) very much. He is a world class batsman. He could end up with all statistical batting records. He has phenomenal number of centuries in the matches he has played. The real test for him will be when India travel and how he can develop the team and play on conditions that doesn’t suit them,” Border added.

The 61-year-old said a good captain is made by a team. “The captain has a decision making role. It is more about creating a positive atmosphere in the dressing room where players, as individuals, know what is expected. Captaincy is all about a good work ethic and 80-90% of times captaincy is a routine. But I feel it is more about creating an environment for everyone to play the best in their position,” he said adding that Australia were fortunate to have a lineage of good captains in the last two decades from Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Steve Smith.

Border said he isn’t surprised to see former England batsman Graeme Hick as the batting consultant for Australia. “It is one of those situations, where you try and pick the best person for the job. England have an Australian coach in Trevor Bayliss. Hick has vast experience playing globally and he has been in Australia for a few years as a batting consultant and coach in lower division cricket. It seems interesting to go out, as we are a premier cricketing country, but that’s how it is,” Border added.

Commenting on Australia’s recent debacle in the series against Sri Lanka, Border said Australia had a problem against spin and it is high time they found an answer to the question. “The pitches on which we play the Sheffield Shield — our premier first-class competition back home —are either batsman-friendly or has grass which suit our fast bowlers. So, the batsmen aren't getting the opportunity to play on turning pitches. I grew up at a time when the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) pitch would turn, wickets in Adelaide or even Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) would offer turn. So, I had the opportunity to learn how to play spin. Also, whenever I played in India the pitches would start off as being good for batting before it spun as the game wore on. That's not the case these days as sub-continent tracks offer turn from Day 1 which puts our batsman under the pump right away. Australia has a problem against spin and we are trying to address that,” he said.

Border said former Indian Test skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was not good in captaining India in Tests because of the pressure of leading in all three formats thereby letting the game drift in Test matches. “He has been so good in the shorter formats but in Tests but I thought he let the game drift a bit at times. Having said that, last time when we were here he beat Australia four-nil. I might be bit harsh because he is a phenomenal cricketer. In India, Dhoni has done a great job but you judge a captain based on how you perform overseas. In saying that, most captains across the world enjoy high percentage of wins at home than away, unless you are Clive Lloyd or Viv Richards who had a great team and won everything they played,” the 61-year-old added.

The former captain feels it is worth experimenting with the pink ball to revive Test cricket. “I am a traditionalist and like Test cricket the way it is. Having said that, with Test cricket is under a bit of threat and it is worth trying the pink ball. The real issue is that the red ball is made with a dye and you can keep on the shine for most of the time. But the pink ball is painted and on abrasive surfaces, the paint could come off. Going forward, we will have to see if there are rules coined, where you can take a new ball after say 50 overs and things like that to keep Test matches alive,” he added.