Punches need to land early for India

The moment of truth is upon both India and Australia. Their much-hyped Test series gets underway in Melbourne on Wednesday. In fact India's finalised their 12-member squad for the first test. As sports editor Gaurav Kalra now reports from Melbourne, both teams are looking for some action.Combining work with family time. A light work-out on Christmas day to prepare for Boxing day meant the players kids were allowed into the nets. They got their share of tips and even a chance to show off their talents."The Australian coach's kid is no good. He's going to be a problem I think," joked Ricky Ponting. It wasn't an intense session but there is a hard to miss aura about Ricky Ponting's team. They are on a 14-match winning streak and appear determined to extend it."They played well last time they were here. Their batsmen played well the last time they were here in Australia. I think we learnt from our all those things. And every time we have played against India over the last few years we have learnt more about their senior players. This time hopefully we can adopt what we have learnt in our game plan going into this game, " said Ponting.Ponting's opposite number is a man of few words but Anil Kumble too is confident his troops are ready for battle. Preparation has been far from ideal but now the focus is on starting."Any series these days because there are back to back Test matches it is important to get the momentum early on. But having said that in Test cricket you still have time to catch up. But we will kike to get in to the right momentum and right spirit early on," said Kumble.In 60 years of playing cricket in Australia, India have never won a series. But perhaps this time believes it's in their destiny to rewrite history this time around. However, the punches need to start landing early. Perhaps from day one here in Melbourne