Rampaging Aussies, confident Indians prepare for high profile series
Over the last few years, there has not been much excitement on the eve of any international tour to India
Partab Ramchand
13-Feb-2001
Over the last few years, there has not been much excitement on the eve
of any international tour to India. But as the Australian team arrives
in India on Wednesday, the hype surrounding the visit is unmistakable.
The tough talk on both sides, the fact that Australia are on the kind
of roll not experienced by any team in history, the fact that the
Aussies have not won a Test series in India since 1969-70, the
presence of top stars on both sides with the added attraction of some
intense personal duels have all contributed to this.
For starters, the Australians want to win in India. Perhaps even
desperately. For one thing, they have not won here for so long. The
overall record which reads played 29, won nine, lost eight, drawn 11
and tied one does not give a true picture of the contests. Eight of
the nine Australian wins have come in the first four contests between
1956 and 1969. Over the last four contests, comprising 13 Tests,
Australia have won just one - and that after the series was decided
three years ago. Indeed, only on Tuesday, Waugh said his Cricketer of
the Year award and his team's record-breaking run would count for
little if they lost in India. "India is where we are all going to be
judged and we know that and we want to make sure that is a good
tour," he said. "The Australian season was fantastic but I have been
looking forward to the Indian tour for a long time and, to be honest,
if we don't win in India, much of what happened in Australia won't
mean a lot to me and a lot of the guys. We are going full steam ahead
for the Indian tour and I'm hoping that's where we are going to play
our best cricket."
A detailed paper on Indian players and playing conditions has been
prepared with statistics and analysis on individual strengths and
weaknesses. While this shows the keenness of the Australians to win in
India, it also indicates that they are aware that the task ahead of
them may not be easy.
Australian manager Steve Bernard has issued a word of caution in an
effort to quell any possible complacency on the part of his boys. He
has described the tour of India as "the toughest of all. Pakistan is a
doddle by comparison".
Coach John Buchanan is quoted to have said that "we want to go over
there and win the series 3-0 and we go confident enough to believe we
can do this. It is just how well we harness the tremendous amount of
raw material at our disposal." All the same, it is apparent that the
Australians, despite their dream run, are not overconfident. Indeed,
if anything, the fact that they have taken the trouble of making a
careful scrutiny of the Indians' strengths and weaknesses in a bid to
counter and exploit them shows that they have a healthy respect for
the opposition.
Yet, there is no doubting that India have some important factors in
their favour as they prepare to extend their three decades of home
supremacy over the Australians. Besides the past record of 30 years,
which shows that India has had much the better of the encounters
between the two countries here, the Aussies will also be up against a
well-prepared Indian team bolstered by the presence of former New
Zealand captain John Wright as coach and former Australian opening
batsman Geoff Marsh as consultant. Wright has already made a
difference to the team, thanks to adroit planning at the pre-series
conditioning camp. And as predecessor to Buchanan as Australian coach,
Marsh knows more about this Australian team than anyone else. He will
be able to deliver valuable input which can only add considerably to
the home advantage.
Admittedly, there is a big question mark over the Indian spin bowling,
particularly in the absence of Anil Kumble. The 30-year-old leg
spinner has 276 wickets in 61 Tests at an average of 28 and has been
particularly successful against Australia in India - 32 wickets in
four Tests at an average of 17.06. But the Australians are no better
served in this department despite the presence of the most successful
spin bowler in the history of the game. Shane Warne might have 366
wickets in 84 Tests at an average of 25.97. But against India, his
figures make for sorry reading - 19 wickets in eight Test at 58
apiece.
In the last series in India in 1998, Tendulkar tore apart Warne, who
finished with ten wickets at 54 apiece. But far from being
discouraged, Steve Waugh believes Warne will relish a return meeting
with his greatest tormentor. "Warnie is a great bowler," Waugh is
quoted to have said. "You always back him in a tough situation and
Shane is keen for the challenge."
Only a little over a year ago, the Australians made a clean sweep of
the three match series `Down Under'. The Indians just could not handle
Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and company on the fast and bouncy wickets
and were thrashed. But on the featherbed pitches expected in Mumbai,
Calcutta and Chennai, the Indian batsmen are not likely to be as
terrified against McGrath and company.
In fact, Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who was one of those who took
a battering in that series, has issued a warning to the Australians
that they could expect a tough Test series, saying his team would not
be bowled over easily. "They've had it easy at home, but India will
be a different proposition altogether," Ganguly is quoted to have
said. Ganguly, as aggressive as ever, has cleverly put all the
pressure on the tourists. "We beat them in India twice in 1996 and
1998, so it is the Australians who will be wary of playing us," he
has said. "They will have to make all the moves if they want to win.
As far as I am concerned, the Indian team is capable of dealing with
the challenge," said the Indian captain who is aware that the
Australians will be keen to continue their golden run, which in turn
puts the pressure on the tourists even more.
The series unfolds against the backdrop that groundsmen have been
instructed to prepare lifeless pitches, ostensibly a defensive measure
from the Indian angle. Even as these allegations have been denied,
Ganguly scoffs at suggestions India will play defensively to avoid
losing to the world champions. "It will be a close series. The team
which handles the pressure better will win," he has said.
Rarely has an Indian captain indulged in such tough talk. Ganguly has
repeatedly made it clear that he is distinctly unimpressed by the 15-
match winning streak Australia is bringing with them to India next
week. "The Australians are on a winning streak but it is going to be a
different ball game in the coming series. They have won most of their
games at home, beaten West Indies 5-0 at home, beaten India and
Pakistan at home. I agree they are playing good cricket for the last
12 months but it's going to be a different ball game when they come
here. We have also been playing well for the last few months with the
young boys. I feel both teams have an even chance of winning the
series."
Even for a person who is known to be more outspoken in his views than
most Indian captains, Ganguly's opinions have been unexpectedly
forthright. He has made it clear that he is not worried about the
Aussies' strengths and weaknesses. "We are going to play according to
our strength. Test and one-day cricket is more of a mind game than
anything else." When reminded about paceman Brett Lee not visiting
India due to injury, Ganguly typically shot back "we are not bothered
about who is in the Australian team. We are all here to be together
and work hard to prepare ourselves for winning matches."
The Indian captain has not even spared his Australian counterpart and
has questioned how Steve Waugh could make comments about the type of
wickets being prepared in India by sitting in Australia. On his part,
Waugh, besides saying that he is confident that his side could beat
India on any type of pitch, has also not pulled his punches when it
has come to attacking the Indian captain verbally.
The war of words has only added spice to the flavour that the
impending contest is bound to provide. This is already a high profile
series, with the build up, the high expectations and the fact that
some of the best players in the game on both sides are waiting to get
at each other. And when the Australians arrive in India on Wednesday,
they are bound to feel the heat in more ways than one.