Australia versus India: series preview

The last time these two teams met Down Under, it was chaos. Except for the former captain who is struggling for his place and for the old warhorses, the rest are not part of the war now (War? Hope Dravid didn’t overhear). They are either retired or injured. The captains have changed and so have their team mates.

The series now cannot be termed as just between two teams; instead, it’s a battle between Dhoni/Fletcher and Clarke/Arthur.

Last year’s Boxing Day Test match saw Australia losing the toss, losing the match by an innings before lunch on day 4, and going on to lose the Ashes, recording their third score below 100 in this decade on the way. At the same time, India too lost the toss but won the match post lunch on day 4 and went on to level the series and retain their top Test ranking. Incidentally, Australia was playing one Duncan Fletcher’s team and India were playing one Mickey Arthur’s team. Fletcher’s team won (under Flower’s coaching) and Arthur’s team (under van Zyl’s coaching) earned a drawn series.

Looking at the Australian map, it’s a continent separated by just a few horizontals and verticals. Maybe they wanted to keep things simple by going along the latitudes and longitudes. And when you look at the tour schedule, you will find that the locations for the battle are concentrated in the southernmost parts. The series starts in the south-east with Melbourne and Sydney then drastically shifts to the south-west at Perth and then moves to the south at Adelaide and once Sri Lanka comes in, the series again oscillates and ends up at the struggling Tasmanian giant’s home ground, Hobart.

After the last match of last year, India didn’t have a very good overseas tour but Australia did make a point or two in Sri Lanka. With both teams having encountered huge losses and close contests, its time to prove to the world who they are.

Post their World Cup loss, Australia might have had more questions than answers, but the emergence of David Warner and James Pattinson at the right time could be a great confidence booster. The absence of Mitchell Johnson might be a huge blow but then Ryan Harris is expected to be fit soon and Peter Siddle proved that he can lead the pace attack. If you fear something enough, there is a high possibility of that fear being realized. That is the case with Pat Cummins. The kid couldn’t even stand after just one international appearance. Batting woes do continue for them but a 4 match test series, longer than anything they have played post-Ashes, should revive the energy and form of the squad.

Steve Waugh once quoted “If you get Dravid, great. If you get Sachin, brilliant. If you get Laxman, it’s a miracle”. That’s the amount of respect the Aussies have for our very very special middle-order player. With a test average of 54.05 in Australia, Laxman is the thorn in the Aussie camp with his swish and flick.

There is an unfortunate but true fact that India are slow starters; be it on home soil or away. They tend to lose their first test match of any series and then are determined to conquer the rest. With India never having won a series in Australia, such first Test blues make them borrow the choker’s tag from its owners. The Australian bowlers may have been injured but their Indian counterparts too are low on their fitness. Even after the shame in England, India still relies primarily on Zaheer Khan. With a lack of match practice for Khan and with Ishant Sharma’s fitness a secret, the burden has slightly shifted towards the Mithun-Yadav-Vinay combination. Ishant, along with Umesh Yadav, might look deadly with their seam and pace variations but, at the end of the day, their fitness remains crucial. There is no problem with the Indian batting though; every top order player is aware of his role and the healthy competition between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is most welcome.

Once again, all eyes will be on Sachin Tendulkar and that elusive 100. Phew! I don’t remember how many times have we spoken about it this year, and penned it down. So, I won’t to elaborate on this. All we need to know is whether it will be achieved at the Milestone Cricket Ground (MCG), or if we’ll need to wait a week more for the new year at the Sachin Cricket Ground (SCG).

No matter what kind of form both teams are in, the authenticity of the series remains the same. More than the players, it will be the crowd which is going to decide on the result. As Dravid said recently, a full house adds to a lively test match rather than few ardent fans watching from a distance, and it is rare for a Test match in Australia not to have a full house. This series is going to be a test for the new found energy in the young pacers of Australia versus the tested, tried and invigorated Indian batsmen. The memories of the previous encounter Down Under between the two will have become a distant past after having shared dressing rooms during the IPL.

Come December 26th, both teams will be trying to brush aside their forgettable series against England (Australia has lost 2 Ashes in a row and India has been whitewashed recently) and make a fresh start to a fresh year. The year when the world is predicted to end, the series should bring a sense of contentment and victory for Test cricket and equality among the three formats, unique to a sport, just like what Rahul Dravid mentioned at the Bradman Oration.