It is that time of the year ahead. Santa has met us riding his sleigh and has (hopefully) delivered us our wishes and promises. Today is time of the Christmas lunch and Down Under, atleast as far as the cricketing fraternity is concerned, the venue is Melbourne and it is a day ahead of one of the most venerated traditions in cricket: The Boxing Day test match at the G (as the MCG is fondly called) !!. And today, as MS Dhoni and Micheal Clarke look ahead to tommorow and the coming month of Test Cricket, both would do well to also dwell on the larger picture surrounding the teams that they command.
That the Aussies are in a rebuilding phase is now known to all. With an Ashes defeat last summer that would have most certainly hurt, they come back to the MCG against an opponent with whom they have had several wonderful duels over the past decade. The fact that they have handed nearly a dozen Test caps this year tells us something about the state of Aussie cricket. A top 3 of Warner, Cowan and Shaun Marsh with a grand total of 5 Test caps between them should surely be making the opening bowlers on the opposition rub their hands in anticipation. Then come the ageing warhorses in the middle, Ponting and Hussey, with the captain sandwiched in between. This might well turn out to be their final summer of Test cricket if they fail to fire against the Indians. But then, only a very brave man would bet on that happening. Expect Ponting and Hussey to come back hungrier and more motivated. Moving on, Haddin has never turned out to be next Gilchrist (can there ever be one ?) as was half-expected. Coming to the bowling, we have Hilfenhaus and Siddle to open the attack. Both good bowlers, honest triers but not in the McGrath-Gillespie bracket. James Pattinson has had an exciting start to his career (14 wickets in 2 Tests) and, aged 21, looks like he might have great things ahead of him. His first real examination would begin tommorow. Nathan Lyon also has a better record than most of the dozen odd spinners in the post-Warne era. All in all, while the Australian team is young, bursting with talent and have only one way to go - up - atleast as far as this series is concerned, they look more vulnerable than they have been onver the past few years. The Kiwis exposed this vulnerability at Hobart, and will the next opposition take the cue from them ?
If only the next opposition did not have problems of its own. And topping that list of issues would be conditions of their lead pace bowlers. The Aussie top order with 5 tests between them can be exposed only if you have a couple of good pace bowlers upfront bowling at full tilt. For India, unfortunately, the part about bowling full-tilt is a great concern. More than anyone else, it will be Zaheer and Ishant who hold the key to India's fortunes in this series. If they can, firstly, play all 4 Tests without any injury concerns and, then, be close to their best, India will be a different unit altogether. Umesh Yadav should provide good backup and Ashwin's height should give him decent bounce to trouble the Aussies. One favour that MSD would be looking for is for Sehwag and Kohli to consistently give him 12-15 overs a day. If his shoulder is doing well, Sehwag is a better bowlers than his record - 39 wickets at 44 each- suggests. The batting of course, should not worry the Indian fan too much. It is hard to see the Aussie bowling consistenly troubling Sehwag, Gambhir and co. And in Rohit and Rahane, they seem to have adequate backup. So India have their troubles in fast bowling, and it is alarming to think that, should either of Zaheer or Ishant break down, the replacements are miles behind. If such a thing should happen, it will be interesting to see if Dhoni asks for Irfan Pathan to come down and then gambles with 5 bowlers. It might be a gamble worth taking, especially at the SCG or Adelaide.
Finally, coming to the test match. The Aussies would be glad that the venue is the MCG, one of their happy hunting grounds in recent times (their innings defeat last year not withstanding). It is also a venue where the Indians have struggled in their recent past, comfortably losing their last 4 tests here. The big boxing day crowd, with a healthy contingent of the Swami Army, should provide a great atmosphere tomorow. The playing XIs of both teams look decided, barring any last-minute injuries. It should be a win toss- bat first decision for either captain. Winning the toss might be a good start for Dhoni. All in all, it promises to be an exciting match and series between two equally-matched teams (the Aussies top order and Indian pace attack matching each for brittleness) and that itself should provide excellent viewing over the next month or so.
Its 5 am tommorow then !!! See you all there...
Cheers
Cheers
Amit
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