Battle at the WACA..

After the (not so great) attempt at humor in my last post, it is back to serious business. The Indian team finds itself in Perth and 0-2 down. It was the same situation 4 years back but, as Sambit Bal of Cricinfo has pointed out, the circumstances could not have been more different. Then, an angry Indian team landed at Perth, convinced (as was most of the world) that bad umpiring had done them in Sydney. To add to that was the bad blood between the two sides. And what followed was the most stirring of comebacks by any Indian team ever, as they handsomely won the 3rd Test at the WACA. This time, Dhoni's boys are hurt and despondent. They have been completely outplayed and beaten fair and square by a good Australian side. Relations between the teams have been generally good, excepting the odd incident. Hence, this time, the Indians have to find that resilience from deep within them if they are to stop the slide and maybe, even, get one back as in 2008. But the dream of a test series win in Australia remains that, a dream.

To be fair, it was nothing more than a dream to start off with. Some pre-series media reports that suggested India were starting as favourites were, even without the benefit of hindsight, way off the mark. No visiting team starts as favourites in Australia (except maybe the West Indians in the 1980s and the current English team). It might have been such articles that stoked the Australian fire in the belly, cause they have come back with a vengenance, led, of course, by the captain and the tried and tested middle-order duo around him. So, to think that India had the upper hand to start off with was a mistake. Of course, not even Australian fans would have imagined that the competition would be so unequal. If Melbourne was a case of missed opportunities for the Indians, in Sydney, they were blown away right from the third ball of the match. Much has been made of MSD's decision to bat first at the SCG but I feel he took the right call. It was not a 191-wicket on the first day. His batters simply failed to deliver. Gambhir's technical flaws were once again exposed as, on both occassions, he got a leading edge (blame it on the shorter formats) while trying to work straight deliveries on the on-side. Sehwag did not fire, and one can only hope that the big innings is on its way. Dravid has found out that 2012 is not the same as 2011 while Laxman's 66 in the second innings could not redeem his Very Very Sorry shot in the first knock. Better test batsmen than Kohli have struggled in Australia so it is important that we show some patience with him. And finally, coming to the small man and the big hundred. Rarely before has SRT been in such good touch without having a century to his name. He is batting on a different planet altogether as compared to the other 21 players on the park. But that century is slowly becoming a pain in the neck not only for him, but also for the team. And as innings go by and time runs out for him, it may not be a question of 'when' but of 'if'. Hopefully, once he gets the century, it will liberate not only him but the teamas well. And Indian fans would be hoping it happens at the WACA. The bowling, of course, has to be termed ordinary if the opposition score is 650+ for 4 and the bowlers, especially R Ashwin, need to show improvement and results and of course, need to find a way after the first three wickets which, thankfully, are coming easy as I had earlier imagined.

Now onto Perth and the WACA. Everyone is quick to remind the tourists that the wicket is not quite the one where RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma swung India to victory in 2008. It is supposed to have regained its earlier fearsome pace of the 80s and 90s and four quicks might form part of the Aussie setup. This, of course, is supposed to send shivers down the Indian batting line up but, as Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out, many of India's overseas victories have come on sporting wickets (Headingley 2001, Durban 2010, Kingston 2006 and of course, Perth in 2008). But this WACA wicket would surely test the Indian batting line up and MSD, for once, would be hoping its a good toss to lose !!. Speaking of the side, there is high speculation that Rohit Sharma will finally get his debut. I, for one, would not be surprised if we go with the same XI, though I believe Rohit should get a chance. If he gets, it will probably be at Kohli's expense. I would have liked it to be in place of VVS but that seems unlikely given our cricketing setup and his second innings half century. And this is where we are handling the transition very badly. The No.6 batting slot is becoming a game of musical chairs now with Yuvraj, Raina, Pujara, Kohli and now, maybe, Rohit. As far as the bowling is concerned, it should remain the same with Ashwin under severe pressure. Hopefully Umesh Yadav will enjoy (and not get carried away) by the wicket.

Finally, it would be a good result if India can manage a draw (though draws are rare in Perth as per recent records). If they are 1-2 down on the 18th, it would be a huge step forward for the team. But whatever the result, for once, it would not harm the fans to collectively pray for that hundred. I really feel that it is holding back the team.

Cheers

Amit