With India losing their No. 1 tag after 4-0 touring losses to England and Australia, questions were asked about the Indian team being kings at home and pussycats outside.
But it got worse when India lost to England at home, when the visiting English spinners got more assistance from the turning tracks than the home bowlers.
With Australia now touring India for four Tests, the country expects India to bounce back strongly against a side missing its experienced campaigners in Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey.
India’s opening duo of Virender Sehwag, who was one of the most feared batsmen of all time, and Gautam Gambhir, who showed his ability to play according to the situation, was one of the reasons for India reaching the No. 1 Test ranking. But since then they have not been in form.
Gambhir has now been dropped after failing to reach three figures in the past three years. Consistent performances by batsmen like Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, and experienced campaigner Wasim Jaffer, made selectors take that decision.
Australian opening pair will hence be more experienced, with Ed Cowan and David Warner likely to open, but lack of knowledge of conditions may favors India.
The middle orders led by the master Sachin Tendulkar and the captain Michael Clarke are very young with the likes of Pujara, Kohli and Jadeja in the Indian squad and Khawaja, Hughes, Maxwell and Henriques in Australia’s. Pujara played a crucial knock in India’s only win against England, and Dhoni and Kohli played against their natural game in the fourth Test to save India from humiliating defeat.
With Sachin scoring an unbeaten century in Irani Trophy the whole middle order looked to be in good touch. If they carry on the same form Indian batting concerns should be solved.
Maxwell’s all-round performance in ODIs against West Indies, and spinner-friendly conditions in India, will help him. Watson coming into the team as a specialist batsmen will reduce pressure on him. Henriques earned his spot in the team as an all-rounder ahead of Dan Christian who had a poor season.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, skipper of the Indian team, is under the hammer after losing 10 Test matches in his last 14. Their have been many comments on Dhoni’s captaincy as being predictable and defensive. Personally being in good form could help him to get back his captaincy rhythm, but Clarke had been one of the best in the past few years.
Mathew Wade, picked ahead of Haddin as wicketkeeper, was criticised for his sloppy glove work against Sri Lanka in Australia but he impressed with the bat. This series is real test for the southpaw, with spinning tracks in the subcontinent expected to test him.
The main concern for both teams is their spin department. Ravichandran Ashwin, the skipper’s trump card, is going for a lot of runs and finding it tough filling the wickets column. Harbhajan Singh, about to play his 100th Test, is not the bowler as he used to be, and Pragyan Ohja, the best for India against England, has struggled domestically.
On the positive side, Harbhajan bowled good line and length in the Irani Trophy, and got wickets with classic off-spinner deliveries, while Ohja was very consistent in his approach. Dhoni was criticised for using Harbhajan only to contain in his Test against England.
Paying two spinners would be ideal, then, with Ravindra Jadeja a handy third option with his left-arm spin.
Coming to Australia, Nathan Lyon is the spinner who had played a good amount of Test cricket, while Xavier Doherty is generally considered for the ODI team. His containing role was very successful but playing attacking cricket will be a new challenge for him and we have to wait and watch how he delivers.
India’s pace attack is very young, with the likes of Bhubaneswar Kumar and Ashok Dinda led by Ishant Sharma, who came back from injury recently. With Ishant and Kumar being in good form in the series against Pakistan and England, the Indian skipper could use them for impact with the new ball.
Kumar’s ability to swing the ball both the ways at a brisk pace and the ability of Ishant to extract the extra bounce from the track with his height will make this duo threatening even on a flat track. One drawback is the lack of experience, where Zaheer Khan could have been the ideal leader.
Australia’s pace attack is also very young but have proved themselves. Mitchell Starc, who has been in great touch, will be key for the Aussies, who are led by Peter Siddle and Mitchell Johnson.
With players like Jackson Bird and James Pattinson, Australia’s pace bowling line up looks more formidable than their Indian counterparts, but it all depends on the way they adapt to the placid tracks in India.
Fanatyk
Roar Rookie
Seems so. Harsha Bhogle has already hinted at this. Plus, the way he is shaping up for the upcoming series, hitting a record 81st first class ton, this might turn out to be 'his' series, as Ravi Shastri pointed out. Maybe he would want to hang up his boots on a high.
Amith
Guest
Daz some good points bud but i have to go with Bearfax on this one.
Daz
Guest
Well done navneeth.I look forward to more of your articles as the series progresses and after that as well.
navneeth
Roar Rookie
Thanks for responding to my article guys ,help me out with the ways i can improve .i am open for sugessions buddies
Daz
Guest
I agree with most of your points bearfax. Rot is a bit harsh as I didn't mean he should be barely scoring at all. I'm not a big fan of Cowans but his strike rate is similar to Watsons in the time he has been in the side and not a lot below some others. I would like to see his average up to 40 as well. I tihnk sometimes all our quick scorers can get caught up in that way of play and that is the cause of some of our big collapses. Sometimes you need to take foot off pedal for a bit and steady an innings. Its been a long time since an Aussie side has batted all day for 250, even with a couple of slower scores in the team. I don't think you could change Warner if you wanted to and if the guy feels pressure to score because the other end isn't, he doesn't show it. I do agree with you about promoting older players but like I said and you agree, the young ones need to feel that they have some time to prove themselves. Good to have this discussion with you, its very interesting and you make some good points
Bearfax
Guest
Have to disagree Daz about Cowan and its supported by what Ian Chappell is saying in the Sunday Tele today. You need someone at the other end from Warner who is also scoring so all the pressure of scoring is not on Warner's back. He indicates that Watson should be there, given he has a better average than Cowen, certainly as an opener, and he scores quickly so that Warner isn't being pressured into making up the score one handed. I think this belief that it is OK to have one player holding down one side but scoring at a slow pedestrian rate, is rot, especially if they are averaging only 32 and the fellow is 30 years old. What you're after is getting the side off to a solid and a relatively quick rate so you can to take the pressure off later batsmen and ensure you have time to win the game. Surely scoring 350-400 in a day is better than scoring 250 in the same time. With Watson and Warner, you have the potential there of scoring 150-200 in quick time, which means the remaining players have a good foundation. If Cowen was consistently scoring 50+ on average, I might review that opinion. But he's scoring an average of 32, a shade better than Khawaja, when he was dropped, and less than Hughes when he was dropped. But you are right that Khawaja needs a whole series to be assured of his position to allow him to feel he can concentrate on his batting rather than concentrate on being dropped AGAIN. And if he fails, then send him back for further training. But as Chappell said, Australia should have learned its lesson when it promoted North when aged 30. They start OK but if they fail, you dont see them again. A younger bloke has time to develop further. In my opinion a batsman should never be promoted to test cricket if they are 30 or over and they have an average of 40 or less unless you're really desperate. They wont get much better and will probably end up being worse at test level..
Daz
Guest
I also agree with both those choices. I'm just saying instead of giving Khawaja a token odi or 2, why not give him a test season to prove himself instead of him worrying about being dropped if he fails. Once again I am blaaming selection not disagreeing with you guys.forget about Bailey if you want but there have been worse examples than him when it comes to getting test caps that may or may not be earnt. Also I think you need at least one player in top order that can stick around while other straoke makers make the runs. We have plenty of those and England proved that you do need to get back to basic test cricket sometimes rather than go for it all the time. If Cowan makes his average while 100 + runs are made at the other end then he has done his job.
Varun
Guest
I have to agree with dean, both Hughes and khawaja have got in because of shield runs, something bailey hasn't got, he got one ODI century and that does t get you a baggy green, he needs to get runs in shield, it's as simple as that
Daz
Guest
I agree about shield form etc. Dean but it was just a suggestion. Khawaja should have been picked last season for tests but wasn't. Bailey's domestic short game form is nothing flash either but he is captain of T20 and ODI's at times and did well. If you went on form Watsons figures are nothing flash either. averages 31.45 since India series and 26.4 since we toured Sri Lanka. I still think he should be in team but I guess I'm saying that the selectors are all over the place. They have the uncanny knack of not picking players when they are running hot then giving them a game when their form starts to wane. With team in India I still think we need extra batsmen whether he averages 32 or not.
Dean Woodward
Guest
Bailey is averging 28 in shield this year so he has to do more in shield before he is considred for tests. Hughes and Khawaja scored in shield which is why they have been rewarde.d
Dean Woodward
Guest
Agree Bearfax, would stick with yoru batting lineup, Cowan is averaging 32 after 13 tests an that's nt good eough, Watson will be amuch better opener and its best to make that move before the ashes. I would howeve move Khawaja to 5 and have clarke at 4.
navneeth
Roar Rookie
thank you sujith
navneeth
Roar Rookie
sorry for the wrong information guys
k77sujith
Guest
Nice one Navneeth. Aus have a very good chance of neating Ind at home. While they might not have spin ammunition like England, Im sure they are well prepared with backup plans. Considering the fact that Ind cricket is in the doldrums, Aus have a great chance.
gavjoshi
Guest
Not sure where you heard Umesh Yadav is playing domestic cricket. Umesh is still at NCA and only recieved his MRI results yesterday.
Daz
Guest
We have a very good chance of beating India. I think you should pick your best, in fast bowlers no matter where you play. Siddle and Bird are a must and either Starc or Johnson. I would still play Cowan as we need all the runs we can get to give our bowlers a chance.Selectors would have been better off in my opinion to pick Bailey as he is a gritty and smart cricketer. He is picked in one day and T20 yet experts think he is better suited to long formsof game. Makes no sense to leave him out of tests if that is their opinion of him. My team is Warner, Cowan, Hughes, Clarke, Watson, Khawaja, Wade, Johnson (or Starc ) Siddle, Lyon, Bird.
Felix
Guest
Well all I can post is what I've been told, from an Indian Cricket fan who lives in Chandigarh. The ongoing stoush in the Indian camp is well documented. The old OLD guard hate him, with plenty of former players calling for his scalp, but apparently the official line is they've got his back and they aren't a fan of the new kids. Either way, it should be an intriguing test series. Do we think it'll be Tendulkar's swansong?
Bearfax
Guest
Ordinarily with this young Australian team, I would have said NO CHANCE. But India as indicated is going through a rebuilding process from losing their greats like Australia has. So much will be dependent upon India's new group. Unfortunately I dont know enough about them to judge their ability, but it is being played on Indian soil, Indian conditions and young players have not been seen by Australian players so both sides have the advantage that their weaknesses have not yet been exploited greatly. Australia can win but they will need their best side on the field and that means a batting line up of Watson, Warner. Hughes. Khawaja. Clarke, Wade, Henriques. Smith and Maxwell are too inexperienced. Cullen doesnt have the skill. Siddle is a must along with Starc, Bird (or Patterson) and Lyon.. That team has a chance I think
Jason Cave
Guest
Would this be the end for Sachin Tendulkar's magnificent career for India? Harsha Bhogle on the Inside Sport magazine hints that this could Tendulkar's final Test series, and possibly his last international apperance for India. Which raise the question: is India prepared for life after Tendulkar? Does India have a 'heir apparent' to take over the role vacated by Tendulkar when the great man retires?
Frankie Hughes
Guest
I can't believe that to be true. Sehwag and Dhoni have barely been on speaking terms since the World Cup. Sehwag wasn't amused he was canned from the ODI/T20 squads. The young players in their squads Kohli Jadeja Pujara Raina are all Dhoni's backers. The old guard hate him.