Down Under: India chase elusive series win (Preview)

Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground

Start Time: 23:30 GMT (Previous Day) (05:00 IST)

Before we analyze the finer points of the eagerly-awaited tour opener in detail, one thing needs to be mentioned at the very start. Sixty-four summers ago, an India cricket team for the first time made the journey to Australia and expectedly returned empty handed. Generations of players have passed since then but, India’s wait for a series win Down Under continues till this day. However, this record may not stand for long.

Over the last decade or so, the rivalry between India and Australia has led to some high voltage and celebrated battles. The beauty about the Border-Gavaskar trophy is that it extracts the best out of players on both sides. While fans of Test cricket have been treated to some heart-stopping action in 2011, a Boxing Day Test at MCG with some of biggest names in the game in attendance is a mouth-watering prospect.

As of now, India and Australia look poles apart on paper. Indian is teeming with experienced players especially in the batting department, where as, Australia has been compelled to dole out Baggy Greens in numbers unheard of in their recent past. However, both teams have struggled to hit top gear. Immediately after the high of a World Cup victory, India were beaten blue and black by England. Even though they won comprehensively against lowly West Indies at home, it was no more than an audition for the current series.

Likewise, Australia under the leadership of Michael Clarke got off to a winning start in Sri Lanka. Then, Newlands happened and Australia’s confidence hit rock bottom but somehow, they redeemed themselves in the second match against South Africa to level the series. However, the worst was yet to come as they suffered their first home test defeat at the hands of New Zealand since 1985.

Despite this evenness in form, experts as well as bookies have put their money on India. And, there are genuine reasons for their assessment. One, it is the last chance for India’s golden troika- Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman- to feature in a series win in Australia and these champions would go all-out in conquering the ‘final frontier’. Two, the hosts will be fielding one of their weakest teams of the last two decades with key players either injured or out-of-from. Finally, Australia are no longer the same dominant force they were at home before the retirement of Warne and Co. Probably for the first time, a visiting Indian team has landed with the tag of ‘favourites’.

The news emanating out of Melbourne has indicated that the playing strip is likely to favour the faster bowlers. By preparing a greenish pitch, Michael Clarke has given his inexperienced pacers at least some chance of making inroads into the vaunted Indian batting. If that doesn’t happen, the Aussies may have to chase leather given the quality of India’s top-six.

For India to stamp their authority, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma will have to stay fit throughout the grueling four-match series. With Umesh Yadav likely to play role of third seamer, India have decent attack. Their only weak link is young spinner R Ashwin, who will be playing his first Test outside India.

This year has been superb for the health of Test cricket. What happened at Wanderers, Bulawayo or Mumbai will surely find place in the game’s history books. It remains to be seen if India and Australia are able to add one more to that list and thus set the tone for a riveting series.

Australia Squad: David Warner, Ed Cowan, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke (Capt), Michael Hussey, Brad Haddin (wk), Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Nathan Lyon, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Starc, Daniel Christian

India Squad: MS Dhoni (Capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Pragyan Ojha, Ajinkye Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Zaheer Khan, Abhimanyu Mithun, Vinay Kumar