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Two teams, Australia and India, with on-field cricketing issues of their own, play the first game of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26.
We’ll bring you the live scores and commentary of the action throughout the first Test match, with the match starting at 10.30 am AEDT from December 26.
Usually not one to incite controversy, Indian captain MS Dhoni’s ‘this is our best chance in Australia’ line was no show at gamesmanship or pre-tour sledging.
Never since the late 1980s has the Australian side looked this vulnerable at home.
Their 1-3 home defeat in the Ashes an year ago led to the captaincy changing hands but some fans were still disappointed that ageing legends like Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey were not shown the door as a part of their build-up for the future.
Injuries and form have ensured five of those who played the Boxing Day Test last year are no longer a part of the Australian 11. This number, however, could have easily risen to six or seven but Ponting, Hussey and Haddin have been saved the axe. For now that is.
Dave Warner’s debut century, Shaun Marsh’s average of 57 in his first three Test matches and a hundred in the tour game for debutant Ed Cowan gives Australia hope.
Ponting needs a big one under his belt while Hussey will hope to recapture the form that won him the man-of-the-series award in Sri Lanka this year.
This is no McGrath-Gillespie-Kasprowicz-Warne bowling combination but James Pattinson, who has two five-wicket hauls in as many games and in-form Ben Hilfenhaus should ask the right questions of willow-wielders.
In Nathan Lyon they have a spinner who has held his own in his short career so far. It will be a different proposition when he faces up to the Indian batsmen.
Dhoni and his men have their own set of problems.
The misery afflicted from the 4-0 whitewash on their English tour will be at the back of their mind for starters. And then there are fitness woes.
Even before the side had boarded the flight to Australia, India lost two of its pace bowlers to injuries. A third, Ishant Sharma, is battling problems with his ankle which leaves only experienced but physically vulnerable Zaheer Khan and greenhorn Umesh Yadav as the leaders of their attack.
Notoriously slow to begin, captain Dhoni will hope for a better start from the batsmen.
Opener Virender Sehwag has gone 19 innings without a three-figure score. His partner Gautam Gambhir last scored a century 29 innings ago.
Since getting to his 99th international century, Sachin Tendulkar averages 41 in Test match cricket, a drop of around 15 runs an innings from his overall figure. How he copes with the mounting pressure of a 100th international ton could well be one of the deciding factors.
When he is not winning hearts with his excellent speeches, Rahul Dravid has been scoring truckload of runs these days. He was the only Indian batsman who came out unscathed from that ill-fated English tour and his five centuries this year is the best this year by any batsman.
There must be a word about the two coaches, both of whom took over their respective roles this year.
Mickey Arthur’s first four Test matches as coach have resulted in two wins and two losses against former team South Africa and trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand.
It is the defeat to New Zealand at Hobart, the team’s first in Australia against the Kiwis in 25 years, that will hurt.
Duncan Fletcher’s initiation was less severe in the West Indies but the series against his old wards, England would have jolted him back to reality.
India has won the three home series to follow but Fletcher will know that this will be a crucial tour for not only his side but also for his own future.
We will bring you the coverage throughout the game from the Melbourne Cricket Ground and hope to receive your opinions as the action unfolds.
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