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A Preview of Ind Vs Aus by BV Swagath (Sep 28, 2007)

There was a time not so long ago that Indian fans were thinking desperately as to how their team can actually find atleast one victory against the mighty Aussies. But after the Semi-Final victory of Dhoni's young boys at Durban, there is a new and strong belief among all Indians that the Aussies can be given a run for their money. The Aussies are World Champions winning the title in 2007 in the Caribbean but what are the Indians? They too are the World Champions with their win in the recently concluded T20 World Cup, isn't it? The ICC has the tournament named as the ICC World Twenty20 Championship but we Indians are making it as the Twenty20 World Cup and why not? All the Indian fans are now saying 'Bring on the Aussies'!

Well what was shocking to see in the newspapers a few days back was former Australian players saying that the Indians are scared of fast bowlers and so on and on. They said that Stuart Clark would go on to tear apart the Indian batting line up with his pace and bounce. Then what happened when one bloke called Yuvraj Singh had stood tall to the much taller Australian tower Stuart Clark to send him packing for a six off a bouncer? Yuvraj just didn't finish with one six but instead went onto murder the Australian bowling with a 30-ball 70! It's not that Tendulkar is the only one who is capable of scaring the Australians! Now the Indian bowling too is running hard towards the best of the best batsmen with the new found aggression in Sreesanth, RP Singh. The Indians have now formed a formidable pace battery that also includes the matured Zaheer Khan and now Irfan Pathan who is bowling as well as Chaminda Vaas has been doing for Sri Lanka.

The Twenty20 Tournament win has lifted the confidence levels to a new high among the Indian players. Even the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly might come out all guns blazing to prove that they are still essential members of the Indian Team. The Selectors have got to keep on rotating the players in the next 12 ODIs even if it means that a Tendulkar has to sit out of the team. It is time to entrust the responsibility on the younger lot to carry the side to victory all on their own. Matches will come and go but what is important is that new players are discovered and groomed to face future challenges. The Twenty20 tournament could produce a new star for India in Rohit Sharma. Ironically, Rohit was not picked in the One Day Squad for the first three ODIs against Australia which was picked a few days before the T20 match against England. But with an ankle injury that has ruled out Piyush Chawla for six weeks, the Selectors have had a second opportunity to pick Rohit Sharma in the team. With the kind of game that Rohit has got, he has to play in as many as games as possible for the benefit of Indian Cricket. Perhaps Dinesh Karthik might be the one making way for this exciting talent. The news for now is that Rohit Sharma will not be available for tomorrow's game at Bangalore but will be joining the team for the second ODI at Kochi.

There is a huge selection problem for the Indians. They are in a real spot of bother whether to drop either Gautam Gambhir or Robin Uthappa for the likes of Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid to make it to the team! And no one would be brave enough to drop any of the three senior players. Virender Sehwag is expected to join the team as well after these 3 ODIs which will make it further difficult. But then the team management and the Selectors have got to employ the rotation policy strictly as selection problems will come even in the bowling front. It is very difficult to pick or drop anyone out of the four pacers that is Zaheer Khan, RP Singh, Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth. After a long time, each and every member of the Indian team looks good to hold his place in the side rather than just filling up the numbers!

The Aussies are of course without the services of Ricky Ponting who might take a few days to recover fully from his hamstring injury. The Australian squad looks a bit soft with the inclusion of three relatively new players in Adam Voges, James Hopes and Ben Hilfenhaus. May be its time for the Indians to cash on certain weak elements of the Australian line-up. The Aussies are without Michael Hussey, Nathan Bracken, Shane Watson on this tour as they have suffered injuries during the T20 Tournament with the exception of Bracken who is in Australia to be with his wife for her delivery.

With seven matches to be played in this series, there is enough time for both sides to make a comeback if they are lagging behind. Interestingly only two day nighters are there in this series with five matches starting early at 9:00 AM. This might mean that the side that is going to bowl first will have the early moisture advantage. The first game is tomorrow at Bangalore which is a day night affair with the wicket expected to have even pace and bounce for the making of a good exhibition of cricketing skills. Everything said and done, I wouldn't be surprised if the rain gods have their say in this series as it is their time in the calendar in India.

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