Sourav Ganguly and Adam Gilchrist unveiled the TVS Cup in Bangalore and a close contest is predicted.
Dileep Premachandran at the Chinnaswamy Stadium05-Jul-2005
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As Sourav Ganguly and Adam Gilchrist exchanged pleasantries after the
unveiling of the TVS Cup, with the incongruous Star Wars theme blaring in the
background, it was difficult to escape the impression that the
intensity and gamesmanship might come down a notch in the absence of
Stephen Rodger Waugh. But while you might see a little less lip out in
the middle, it’s impossible to overstate how much this rivalry now
means to both sides.Despite Gilchrist cleverly negating ideas of final frontiers and
crossings, the fact is that any team with legitimate aspirations to be
ranked on par with Clive Lloyd’s West Indians and Don Bradman’s
Australians has to win against India in India. Only two teams have
managed that since Mike Gatting came and had a few too many prawns in
1984-85. They are Imran Khan’s Pakistan, who edged a thriller at this very
ground in 1986-87, and Hansie Cronje’s South Africans, who crushed
India at Mumbai and Bangalore in 1999-2000, only to have the veneer of
greatness scratched away by the match-fixing scandal that followed.India haven’t enjoyed playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in recent
times, with two defeats and a draw in three matches played since 1998.
Michael Kasprowicz, who will be a key performer tomorrow, stopped the
in-form Sachin Tendulkar in his tracks that March during
a magnificent spell of 5 for 28, and two years later, it was the
innocuous left-arm spin of Nicky Boje that sent India hurtling to
defeat in Mohammad Azharuddin’s 99th and final Test.Australia will enjoy the temperate weather, and despite John
Buchanan’s initial alarm on seeing the playing surface, they shouldn’t
be too put out by the pitch. As hard and flat as a concrete
slab, with every blade of grass hacked away, you could mistake it for
the Atacama in the heat of summer. But, having been rolled to extreme
flatness, it’s unlikely to crumble until at least the fourth
afternoon.There has been much talk of how the pitch will abet the efforts of Anil
Kumble, who needs just three more wickets for 400, and Harbhajan Singh,
but it seems extremely foolish to ignore the legend that is Shane
Warne. Neither captain was asked a question about Warne, and such a slight
could be just the inspiration that the man nicknamed Hollywood needs to
script a blockbuster.
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Lest it be forgotten, Rahul Dravid’s pedigree was questioned by some
after his first innings failure at Brisbane last December, largely owing to the fact that his previous tour of Australia had produced
just 93 runs in three Tests. Like Dravid, Warne has too much in his
locker to keep failing in conditions that will suit him.Yesterday, Warne was quoted as saying that Brian Lara was the
third-best batsman in the world, after Sachin Tendulkar and daylight.
And the absence of India’s little big man could be a big factor in the
outcome of this match, and the series. India will not only miss
Tendulkar’s batting, but also the legspin that accounted for crucial
top-order wickets in the famous victories at Kolkata and Adelaide. More
importantly, they will miss Tendulkar the icon, whose presence on the
teamsheet demoralises the opposition, and Tendulkar the team-man, whose
arm around the shoulder can galvanise a Harbhajan or a Zaheer
Khan.By contrast, Australia have few worries. Michael Clarke will make his
long-awaited debut, despite the stray whisper that Shane Watson might
have a role to play. And Brett Lee, a familiar presence in Indian
advertising campaigns, will surely be off-camera, with Glenn McGrath,
Jason Gillespie and Kasprowicz providing a formidable pace array for
Gilchrist to employ. Though Kasprowicz joked yesterday about how he was
prepared for five days of back-breaking effort, there’s no doubt that
the abrasive surface will delight bowlers who are adept at
reverse-swinging a scuffed-up ball.India will need both Zaheer and Irfan Pathan to operate at
maximum potential against a line-up that appears far more balanced than
the one that played in 2001. Simon Katich, Darren Lehmann, Damien
Martyn and Clarke all play the turning ball with assurance, while
Matthew Hayden – unless he can be undone by some early movement – presents a mighty initial barrier for India to cross.Australia will undoubtedly target Dravid and VVS Laxman – 965 runs in
his last six Tests against Australia – who have been the linchpins of
the batting effort even when Tendulkar was in the side. Virender
Sehwag’s recent form hasn’t been great, and there’s a perception among
the Australians that both Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh have weaknesses,
against genuine pace and spin respectively, that can be worked on.Ganguly’s stunning century at the Gabba last year made a mockery of
such plans, and it’s vital that he leads from the front again with
expectations having been raised to fever-pitch by the 1-1 draw in that
series. Australia will undoubtedly play smarter cricket this time
round, conscious of how a gung-ho approach cost them at Kolkata in
2001, as Gilchrist and gang attempt to go where no Australian team
has gone since that controversial tour of 1969-70.It might not quite be Star Wars with Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting missing, but the watching world can certainly expect a Close Encounter of the
Test-match kind.India (likely) 1 Aakash Chopra, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 VVS
Laxman, 5 Sourav Ganguly (capt), 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 Parthiv Patel (wk),
8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Irfan Pathan, 10 Zaheer Khan, 11 Anil Kumble.Australia (likely) 1 Justin Langer, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Simon Katich, 4
Damien Martyn, 5 Darren Lehmann, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Adam Gilchrist
(capt, wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11
Glenn McGrath.
