The Boxing Day Test gets underway tomorrow, and all eyes are on whether the power-packed Indian batting line-up would be able to replicate the success that they enjoyed here four years ago. At that time it was felt that the Australians were outplayed for large parts of the Test series. The team that confronts us is pretty similar, but they would find in us a newer, fitter and dare I say, more capable attack. He bowling is led by Brett Lee, who was unfit in 2003-2004. There is Mitchell Johnson, who caused trouble in India during the recently concluded one-day series and Stuart Clark who has seamlessly fit into the role of an accurate bowler. We are still uncertain about whether we should go with Shaun Tait or with Brad Hogg because it depends on how conditions are tomorrow. The weather has not been too good recently, and if it continues this way play could get disrupted. The pace bowling fraternity is constantly reminding us that the Indians would rather play the spin of Hogg instead of the steaming pace of Tait. I believe even Shoaib Akhtar has pleaded the young paceman’s case! It is tempting to play young Tait in both Melbourne and at the SCG because the wicket does scuff up the ball, bringing reverse swing into the equation. And if Tait gets the ball to reverse at his pace, it’s going to be tough for even the seasoned Indian pros. For the Indians to do well, it will be important to see how the batsmen handle the pace bowlers we will throw at them. A lot of cricket has been played between the two sides over these four years, and it would be right for me to say that we have dominated almost always. Be it in the subcontinent or elsewhere, we are better equipped to play the Indians, and we have learnt to plan and execute our plans better against the talented Indian batsmen. From the looks of it Rahul Dravid will open in order to accommodate Yuvraj Singh, and it will be interesting to see if he can be successful in this new role. That apart, there is a familiarity between their batsmen and our bowlers, and I am sure they have their plans chalked out as to how to face our bowlers. The main change in the Indian side is the ‘new’ captain we see in the form of Anil Kumble. He is greatly respected because he is a fierce competitor, which is why he has been his team’s main bowler for so long. He was successful against us last tour, but he had to work for his wickets and was made to bowl many overs for them. It’s always been our aim to get on top of the opposition captain, because if we can dominate the captain, the rest of the team can be controlled. Once again we confront India after a long winning streak, but strangely enough we never talked about the streak at all during our team meetings. We prefer to take every game as it comes and plan for the next game and not for a spot in any record book. India have a stronger batting line-up and a more varied attack than Sri Lanka, so I do expect the fight which starts tomorrow to be more challenging than what we have faced for the last 12 monthsTuesday, December 25, 2007
We need to dominate the Indian skipper
The Boxing Day Test gets underway tomorrow, and all eyes are on whether the power-packed Indian batting line-up would be able to replicate the success that they enjoyed here four years ago. At that time it was felt that the Australians were outplayed for large parts of the Test series. The team that confronts us is pretty similar, but they would find in us a newer, fitter and dare I say, more capable attack. He bowling is led by Brett Lee, who was unfit in 2003-2004. There is Mitchell Johnson, who caused trouble in India during the recently concluded one-day series and Stuart Clark who has seamlessly fit into the role of an accurate bowler. We are still uncertain about whether we should go with Shaun Tait or with Brad Hogg because it depends on how conditions are tomorrow. The weather has not been too good recently, and if it continues this way play could get disrupted. The pace bowling fraternity is constantly reminding us that the Indians would rather play the spin of Hogg instead of the steaming pace of Tait. I believe even Shoaib Akhtar has pleaded the young paceman’s case! It is tempting to play young Tait in both Melbourne and at the SCG because the wicket does scuff up the ball, bringing reverse swing into the equation. And if Tait gets the ball to reverse at his pace, it’s going to be tough for even the seasoned Indian pros. For the Indians to do well, it will be important to see how the batsmen handle the pace bowlers we will throw at them. A lot of cricket has been played between the two sides over these four years, and it would be right for me to say that we have dominated almost always. Be it in the subcontinent or elsewhere, we are better equipped to play the Indians, and we have learnt to plan and execute our plans better against the talented Indian batsmen. From the looks of it Rahul Dravid will open in order to accommodate Yuvraj Singh, and it will be interesting to see if he can be successful in this new role. That apart, there is a familiarity between their batsmen and our bowlers, and I am sure they have their plans chalked out as to how to face our bowlers. The main change in the Indian side is the ‘new’ captain we see in the form of Anil Kumble. He is greatly respected because he is a fierce competitor, which is why he has been his team’s main bowler for so long. He was successful against us last tour, but he had to work for his wickets and was made to bowl many overs for them. It’s always been our aim to get on top of the opposition captain, because if we can dominate the captain, the rest of the team can be controlled. Once again we confront India after a long winning streak, but strangely enough we never talked about the streak at all during our team meetings. We prefer to take every game as it comes and plan for the next game and not for a spot in any record book. India have a stronger batting line-up and a more varied attack than Sri Lanka, so I do expect the fight which starts tomorrow to be more challenging than what we have faced for the last 12 months