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| Michael Clarke: set to make his long-awaited Test debut© Getty Images |
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As Sourav Ganguly and Adam Gilchrist exchanged pleasantries after theunveiling of the TVS Cup, with the incongruous Star Wars theme blaring in thebackground, it was difficult to escape the impression that theintensity and gamesmanship might come down a notch in the absence ofStephen Rodger Waugh. But while you might see a little less lip out inthe middle, it’s impossible to overstate how much this rivalry nowmeans to both sides.Despite Gilchrist cleverly negating ideas of final frontiers andcrossings, the fact is that any team with legitimate aspirations to beranked on par with Clive Lloyd’s West Indians and Don Bradman’sAustralians has to win against India in India. Only two teams havemanaged that since Mike Gatting came and had a few too many prawns in1984-85. They are Imran Khan’s Pakistan, who edged a thriller at this veryground in 1986-87, and Hansie Cronje’s South Africans, who crushedIndia at Mumbai and Bangalore in 1999-2000, only to have the veneer ofgreatness scratched away by the match-fixing scandal that followed.India haven’t enjoyed playing at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in recenttimes, with two defeats and a draw in three matches played since 1998.Michael Kasprowicz, who will be a key performer tomorrow, stopped thein-form Sachin Tendulkar in his tracks that March duringa magnificent spell of 5 for 28, and two years later, it was theinnocuous left-arm spin of Nicky Boje that sent India hurtling todefeat in Mohammad Azharuddin’s 99th and final Test.Australia will enjoy the temperate weather, and despite JohnBuchanan’s initial alarm on seeing the playing surface, they shouldn’tbe too put out by the pitch. As hard and flat as a concreteslab, with every blade of grass hacked away, you could mistake it forthe Atacama in the heat of summer. But, having been rolled to extremeflatness, it’s unlikely to crumble until at least the fourthafternoon.There has been much talk of how the pitch will abet the efforts of AnilKumble, who needs just three more wickets for 400, and Harbhajan Singh,but it seems extremely foolish to ignore the legend that is ShaneWarne. Neither captain was asked a question about Warne, and such a slightcould be just the inspiration that the man nicknamed Hollywood needs toscript a blockbuster.
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| Irfan Pathan: will need to operate at his maximum potential for India© Getty Images |
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Lest it be forgotten, Rahul Dravid’s pedigree was questioned by someafter his first innings failure at Brisbane last December, largely owing to the fact that his previous tour of Australia had producedjust 93 runs in three Tests. Like Dravid, Warne has too much in hislocker to keep failing in conditions that will suit him.Yesterday, Warne was quoted as saying that Brian Lara was thethird-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 theoutcome of this match, and the series. India will not only missTendulkar’s batting, but also the legspin that accounted for crucialtop-order wickets in the famous victories at Kolkata and Adelaide. Moreimportantly, they will miss Tendulkar the icon, whose presence on theteamsheet demoralises the opposition, and Tendulkar the team-man, whosearm around the shoulder can galvanise a Harbhajan or a ZaheerKhan.By contrast, Australia have few worries. Michael Clarke will make hislong-awaited debut, despite the stray whisper that Shane Watson mighthave a role to play. And Brett Lee, a familiar presence in Indianadvertising campaigns, will surely be off-camera, with Glenn McGrath,Jason Gillespie and Kasprowicz providing a formidable pace array forGilchrist to employ. Though Kasprowicz joked yesterday about how he wasprepared for five days of back-breaking effort, there’s no doubt thatthe abrasive surface will delight bowlers who are adept atreverse-swinging a scuffed-up ball.India will need both Zaheer and Irfan Pathan to operate atmaximum potential against a line-up that appears far more balanced thanthe one that played in 2001. Simon Katich, Darren Lehmann, DamienMartyn and Clarke all play the turning ball with assurance, whileMatthew 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 inhis last six Tests against Australia – who have been the linchpins ofthe batting effort even when Tendulkar was in the side. VirenderSehwag’s recent form hasn’t been great, and there’s a perception amongthe 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 ofsuch plans, and it’s vital that he leads from the front again withexpectations having been raised to fever-pitch by the 1-1 draw in thatseries. Australia will undoubtedly play smarter cricket this timeround, conscious of how a gung-ho approach cost them at Kolkata in2001, as Gilchrist and gang attempt to go where no Australian teamhas 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 theTest-match kind.India (likely) 1 Aakash Chopra, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Rahul Dravid, 4 VVSLaxman, 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, 4Damien Martyn, 5 Darren Lehmann, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Adam Gilchrist(capt, wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11Glenn McGrath.