India's happily congested middle-order is slowly bearing resemblance to its golden generation

India’s current Test batting line-up bears a strong resemblance to the early years of the much-vaunted batting order of its golden generation. Central to both is contemporary cricket’s best batsman – Sachin Tendulkar then, Virat Kohli now – with a bunch of diverse talent rallying around.

Rahul Dravid, Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman gave sleepless nights to bowlers world over. They were left terror-stricken after the arrival of Virender Sehwag, who brought another dimension to batsmanship.

If Ganguly turned a bunch of talented cricketers into a force on the global stage after taking over as captain in 2000, another firebrand in Kohli promises to build on the exploits of Ganguly and his trophy-laded successor MS Dhoni.

“I believe this team under Virat has the quality and capability of winning Test matches outside the subcontinent,” Sehwag said recently. “They can definitively emulate the performances of the team that played under Ganguly and won Test matches in England and Australia.”

Kohli’s brilliant start to Test captaincy

Under Kohli, India has already reclaimed top spot in the ICC Test rankings. Since taking over as full-time skipper with the drawn one-off Test against Bangladesh in June 2015, the 28-year-old has led the side to away series victories in Sri Lanka (2-1) and West Indies (2-0) and routed South Africa (3-0), New Zealand (3-0) and England (4-0) at home.

Kohli has lost only one in 20 Tests after being appointed as full-time captain, marshalling a side that has turned impregnable at home. India plays Bangladesh in a one-off Test in Hyderabad starting on February 9, and will bring the curtains down on a 13-Test home season with a high-profile four-Test series against Australia beginning later this month.

Karun Nair’s blitz in the fifth and final Test against England in December has left an already packed middle-order congested in a happy sort of a way. The Karnataka batsman came into the squad following a thigh injury to Rohit Sharma, and was handed a debut in the third Test in Mohali after opener KL Rahul’s last-minute injury led to Parthiv Patel being promoted as stand-in opener, making room in the middle-order where Nair at No. 6 followed the usually solid Ajinkya Rahane.

Rahane did not play in the final two Tests against England owing to a finger injury, and this saw Nair promoted to No. 5 in the Mumbai Test followed by wicketkeeper Patel and the five specialist bowlers – two of whom qualify as all-rounders.

It was batting at No. 5 that Nair hit 303 not out in Chennai in just his third Test to become only the second Indian after Sehwag to score a Test triple ton and the third after Gary Sobers and Bob Simpson to convert his maiden Test ton into a triple hundred.

An adaptable team

Rahane returns from injury for Bangladesh’s first-ever Test on Indian soil, and it remains to be seen where Kohli will slot the reliable Mumbaikar, given the skipper’s wont to play five specialist bowlers.

But the beauty of the current batting line-up – M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli, Rahane and now Nair – lies in their adaptability. For, much like the fab five of yore, this bunch can bat anywhere in the order.

Ravichandran Ashwin’s transformation into a world-class bowling all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja’s new-found maturity with the willow and Jayant Yadav’s batting potential has provided the team with depth in batting.

The situation is only bound to get better if someone like medium-pacer-all-rounder Hardik Pandya is able to make the transition from overs-limit cricket to the longest format, considering that India is to tour South Africa, England and Australia in 2017-’18 in what is being billed as the true test for the world No. 1 side.

Even the pacers have come to the party

India is yet to win a Test series in both Australia and South Africa and lost in England on its previous two Test visits. Kohli is looking to build a Test team that is capable of winning consistently overseas. The current pace pack, spearheaded by Mohammed Shami, appears to be up to the task, given its high quality and varied skills.

Shami and Umesh Yadav bowl consistently at 140-plus kmph. Ishant Sharma, the senior-most with over 200 Test scalps, bowls in the higher 130s with the ability to derive disconcerting bounce. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is of the swing and seam variety, while Varun Aaron, who is waiting in the wings, has the ability to crank it up to 140-plus.

During the recent home series, the pacers showed discipline and patience in conditions that did not complement their skills – a sure sign that they had come of age as a unit.

“The potential of the batting unit with Virat as the leader we have all seen,” Sehwag said. “You need a good bowling attack to take wickets. We have a brilliant bowler like Mohammed Shami. We have Umesh Yadav and someone like Ishant Sharma, who can also win India matches. There is no reason why they can’t replicate their performance at home in overseas conditions.”