India vs Australia Test Series: A Preview

This has to be one of the most under hyped India - Australia series in two decades. India's poor showing versus England in the test series and the whitewash last time they played Australia might be a reason to it. Australia are without Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey and their batting doesn't instill the confidence it did 18 months back. Both India and Australia are teams in transition and there is no denying that.

But Australia, even in transition have a confident captain in Micheal Clarke in ominous batting form. A firing opening combination, stable middle order, in form all rounders in Henriques & Maxwell and a strong pace bowling unit. India on the other hand have their struggles beginning right at the top. With Gambhir being dropped and Dhawan, Vijay being included Sehwag will have a new partner to start the innings with. Pujara was in bright form against England and will be expected to hold fort against Australia at no 3. Tendulkar, fresh from a hundred against a strong attack in the Irani Cup will look to pile on runs against the Australians and shut his critics. This series will also indicate how long Tendulkar prolongs his test career. Success in this series could mean Tendulkar could play till India's tour of South Africa to guide a younger side in tough conditions against a tough opposition. But failure here could result in retirement. Kohli will be India's no 5 and will have the task of playing with the lower order. Much expected of him is yet to bear fruit. Dhoni, has been facing enormous criticism for his test batting and captaincy. Outcome of this series will decide if Dhoni will continue to captain the test side or selectors will look for the next captain. Indian bowling without Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav looks bare. Ashwin & Ojha's inability to spin a web around the English batsmen proved they can be dealt with rather easily and aren't penetrative enough even in favourable conditions. Ishant will lead the pace attack and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is expected to debut after impressive ODI performances.

In my opinion India will do well going in with five batsmen, three spinners and two pacers. India's best chance to challenge Australia will be by attacking them with spin. India's line up for the first test in my humble opinion should be: Sehwag, Dhawan, Pujara, Tendulkar, Kohli, Dhoni, Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar, Harbhajan, Ishant, Ojha.

Australia will depend on Warner and Cowan to give them explosive yet steady starts. Hughes will be the more preferred option for no.3 over Khawaja. Hughes' effectiveness against Indian spinners is to be gauged. Clarke & Watson hold the key for Australia in spinning Indian pitches. Matthew Wade, selected over Brad Haddin will have the task of playing with the tail if need be. Henriques, picked over Maxwell for the first test, will take over the all rounder spot vacated by Watson, now playing purely as batsman. Glenn Maxwell will be crucial as the second spinner and a valuable batsman when selected.

Australia will surely have an edge over India with a very strong bowling attack. Siddle, Pattinson & Starc will have taken notes from how Anderson bowled to the Indian batsmen. Indian batsmen won't have good memories of this pace trio who had them hop, jump, duck, fend & edge in faster, bouncier conditions. According to me Starc is the bowler India needs to be most careful of. He is capable of skidding, curving away from and bringing it back to the right hander which is Sehwag, Tendulkar & Kohli's undoing. Pattinson will come at the Indian will all he's got. Good pace, lovely rhythm and good lengths. Siddle is expected to spearhead this attack and is the only bowler who has played in India conditions before. Bowling in Indian conditions will be Lyon's biggest test in his career up till now. If he can emulate some success that Swann & Panesar had against Indian batsmen few months back, Australia will be well served. His experience of these conditions will help. Mitchell Johnson & Ashton Agar will await their chances in the upcoming tests.

Dhoni & Clarke are both in different stages of their captaincy. Dhoni will set out to prove series loss to England at home was an aberration and the Indian team in transition is still good enough to inflict a series defeat against Australia. He also has a point to prove that he is good enough a batsman and wicket keeper to hold his place in the side even if he wasn't the captain. Clarke on the other hand has had a challenging summer at home against South Africa & Sri Lanka and would be looking to win overseas. South Africa inflicted a rare defeat at home on Australia while they easily thrashed Sri Lanka 3-0. Clarke, in contrast with Dhoni has been in phenomenal personal form with the bat. He will be looking to add to his runs tally from 2012.

My call for the series would be a 1-1 draw as neither team seems to have the firepower to outdo the other. India has too feeble a bowling line up to defeat Australia. And Australia, post Hussey & Ponting's retirement will struggle to hand India a series defeat at home. Drawn series would be a success for India while Australia will look to force a win considering how India played against England.

One last word for Duncan Fletcher for whom this might be the last chance to lead India to a win and salvage some pride after an extremely disappointing two years at the top job.

Dhoni's Conundrum

It is a well known fact that some cricketers are good at one form of the game and moderate at others. This is excluding those who excel in all forms of the game. And it is also well known that cricketers take pride in saying that "Test cricket is most important". Some of the best ODI players haven't replicated their ODI successes in tests. Ajay Jadeja & Micheal Bevan are two names right on top of my head. Both were exceptional in their limited overs career, but were found wanting in the test format. Jadeja couldnt handle quality bowling and his temperament was exposed in tests. Bevan's was moderate, but considering his ODI successes, it was always felt he didnt fit the bill in tests. In the opposite spectrum, we have hugely talented and successful Justin Langer who was considered a test specialist. Why? With his attacking nature and strong defense, he could have easily made it to the Australian ODI side, although in his limited ODI career he did only moderately well. And can anyone explain why England won't make Matt Prior a regular in their ODI squad? Dabbling around with Kieswetter and Buttler, they're losing out of Matt Prior's best days as batsman considering his strong show in tests.

Here we are talking about how players get stereotyped as Test specialists or ODI specialists or now lately T20 specialists. Ask David Warner what it took him to get the selectors to take a note of his T20 performances and give him a nod for tests and ODIs. In some cases the stereotyping could be fair too.

Is this stereotype limited to batsmen, bowlers and wicket keepers? Well, yeah. Adam Hollioake only captained England in ODIs while Mike Atherton captained in tests. This way back in mid 90s. This was more to get a young thinker for captain. Now, its slowly becoming common to have split captaincy for different forms of the game, considering there are 3 now. India did too, when Anil Kumble before his retirement, captained in tests and MS Dhoni lead the ODI, T20I sides. But Dhoni soon took over and displayed success in all three forms. But today, after 5 years and 5 months of his assuming limited overs captaincy and 4 years and 3 months since he took over as captain in all three forms, it's easy for a viewer to say which form of the game Dhoni likes to lead and play the most. No marks for guessing! ODIs.

Dhoni; we all know by now won us the inaugural WC T20 in 2007 when the nation was still grieving over the team's insipid first round exit in the 50 over WC earlier the same year. He became an instant hero. This followed by the Indian team's test successes, climb to no. 1 on the ICC Test ranking along with India's continued good run in ODIs, Dhoni was now called, not a tactician or a strategy maker, but a "street smart captain". With victory at the World Cup 2011, he had ensured India had achieved the pinnacle of each of the three formats of the game. That put together with the two consecutive IPL wins for Chennai Super Kings, the team he captains, Dhoni was unquestioned as captain. This stood true till June 2011. Between then and February 2012, Dhoni's reputation as a test captain had taken a mighty beating with 4-0 defeats in England followed by Australia. His street smart captaincy was now replaced by illogical or clueless moves. Players in the team seemed to just go through the motions. Differences between the captain and few players started to come out in the open.

In between all this, Dhoni with an almost different set of personnel fought it out against England in England and lost an ODI series, but with heads held high. A young team had fought hard. But the same England team visited India for 5 match ODI series. Dhoni's men blanked them 5-0. It was again a young side with part timers, swift fielders, big hitters, quick runners. It looked like a different ball game. Dhoni too seemed more interested, enthusiastic and well in the middle of the business. Almost the same team thrashed a resurgent West Indies 4-1 in India. Post the Australian test debacle, India lost the CB Series and Asia Cup. Both had strong performances by youngsters and Dhoni's involvement was felt. Dhoni the batsman flourished too. The same repeated itself when England visited India for a 4 match test series and went back victorious 2-1. Dhoni looked out of ideas in the last three tests after winning the first. Come ODIs against Pakistan and England, Dhoni became India's best batsman and suddenly his tricks started working and his ploys taking shape.

So, it's clear. His style of captaincy is more suited for ODIs. Anything wrong with that? No. Each batsman, bowler and even captain has his own set game that probably is suited for one format or the other. Case of former English opener Nick Knight used to baffle me. He looked every bit world class when he batted in ODIs. But once at the test stage he would struggle immensely.

MS Dhoni, the batsman is more suited for the ODI format more than tests or surprisingly even T20. ODIs allow him the time he needs to push for singles & doubles and flex his muscles whenever required. No doubting his temperament to play in tests or his ability to get going from the word go in T20s, the ease he is at while playing ODIs is evident from how he captains the side and his flurry of runs in the format. Even as captain one would see him less perturbed when opposition batsmen are having a go at the pacers, he'd know its a question of one wicket that would help the team peg back. His use of part timers like Yuvraj, Raina, Rohit Sharma has been interesting and has more often than not proved successful. Dhoni has shown confidence is many a youngster or even a struggling experienced campaigner. His confidence in Ravindra Jadeja is now proving worthwhile. Praveen Kumar, Rohit Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin are all beneficiaries of Dhoni's confidence. But compare this with tests. India are currently a victim of massive talent exodus. Dravid followed by Laxman have retired and Tendulkar isn't going to be around for too long. Till all three were in the squad no one could've displaced them. After Kumble's retirement and Harbhajan's massive loss of form, India turned to Zaheer to be the team's bowling spearhead and mentor. Now, Zaheer's coming apart too. All of Dhoni's key personnel are falling apart. All the reason for him to look forlorn and clueless while opposition bowlers and batsmen make merry against India.

India would never want to loose Dhoni the ODI batsman and captain. Test side, going through a transition. Sehwag and Gambhir must be mandated to oversee that. While Dhoni's expertise and clear interest lies in ODIs why force him to lead the test side. There isn't currently another right man for the job.  Dhoni must be mandated to nurture the team for the 2015 World Cup in Australia & New Zealand. Hand the test captaincy over to Kohli. He is young, will take time to learn the tricks of the trade. With Dhoni, Sehwag and Gambhir as mentors, Kohli can grow as captain. And Dhoni must give away his Chennai Super Kings captaincy to Raina. What better than grooming another captain for a rainy day?

If Dhoni the batsman and wicket keeper still continues to impress in tests, India couldn't have asked for more.

Unboxing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2011-12

India versus Australia has always been the marquee series since the teams played out what is called one of the most absorbing series of test cricket in 2000-01 in India. The turnaround series. Since January 1st 2000, the two teams have played 22 test matches against each other in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Unlike no other team in recent history, with probably the exception of England in very recent times, India has an upper hand over their rivals. India has won 9 of those encounters, where as Australia have won 7 of them. Rest 6 have been draws, but draws which have played some part in upping one team's psyche over the other.

India's current tour of Australia will kick off with the Boxing Day test at Melbourne tomorrow. This series is what experts are calling 'India's best chance to defeat Australia in Australia'. I'd have to agree. While both teams look undercooked, Australia look scarily raw on paper. With no Watson their batting looks unappealing and without Johnson their bowling seems to lack depth. With Siddle and Hilfenhaus expected to lead the attack alongside Pattinson and Lyon, you get a feeling there is something missing. Bollinger would've made a difference here, he's injured too. Their woes don't end here. Their 'Mr Dependable', Mike Hussey has been going through a torrid run in the past few months. Question marks have been raised over Ponting's relevance in the team. Micheal Clarke has emerged as a good leader and his batting form has shown up too, but this is going to be his acid test too. Newcomer Warner and debutant Ed Cowan are expected to open the innings for Australia. Both have been in supreme form. But as a pair in international cricket they are untested and inexperienced. It's easy to say this is the weakest team Australia has played in a while. Looking at the team sheet doesn't quite exude confidence.

While Australia played without the services of Warne and McGrath when India toured in 2003-04, they then had Gillespie, Brett Lee and the hardworking duo of Bichel & MacGill. But their batting, especially Ricky Ponting, was in terrific form. They were then led by a capable & experienced Steve Waugh. And not to forget India's overseas jinx then. That 2003-04 series could be monumental in India having self belief that they can win tests abroad. Ganguly led by example with a century in the drawn first test at Brisbane. His captaincy was a mix of aggression and caution by which India could salvage a 1-1 draw. None of that looks too likely here. Clarke still in his formative days as captain. Batting looks far from confident enough to match up to the star studded Indian line up. Haddin is no Gilchrist. But Australians are still going to come hard at the Indians. They aren't expected to give a leeway to India in any way. Bowlers will pepper Indian batsmen with the short ball. Fielding will be top notch to cover up for other deficiencies.

Now a look at India.
Dhoni as usual underplays Australia's weak line up. He expects them to leave no stone unturned to intimidate Indians. India's biggest cause of concern though is the fitness of the bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan and their highest wicket taker in 2011, Ishant Sharma. The former has a history of breaking down in the middle of a tour, more so in the middle of a match like against England earlier this year. Ishant has had concerns with his ankle. They both have been bowling in the nets confidently and are expected to be fit for the series. These two are India's best bets to set the ball rolling. Their know how of the surfaces and Australian batting will help immensely. Without Zaheer, its difficult to see India taking 20 wickets in a match. Umesh Yadav will shore up a the third seamer. His pace and his rip will cause some discomfort. Ravichandran Ashwin walks in to the line up for this series with a reputation. Australians will be very vary of him. Pitches here will offer some spin, especially Sydney. His role will be very crucial. Australia, with the exception of Clarke, Hussey, aren't the best players of spin. Batting will be India's best chance. Australia doesn't have a Steyn or Anderson that Indian batsmen will need to guard against. Gambhir and Sehwag will tear into anything loose. Gambhir needs runs to back him. Then in the line up come the three "creaking terminators" as Dravid termed them in his legendary speech at the Bradman Oration. Dravid, Tendulkar & Laxman tour Australia for possibly the last time in their cricketing careers. This would be Tendulkar's fifth tour and Dravid & Laxman's fourth. They would love a 'test series win in Australia' in their CVs when they hang their boots. More over Dravid and Tendulkar, it's Laxman who would be giving Aussie bowlers nightmares. The numbers speak for themselves. The sixth batsman slot will be taken up by Virat Kohli after his reassuring knocks against West Indies in the tests. Rohit Sharma is knocking the doors too hard for Kohli's comfort. It's healthy competition though. So much depends on this one man, Dhoni. His unaffected demeanour, calm exterior and the passive aggressive intent not only keeps his team composed but it doesn't give a hint of what's going on in his mind to his opposite number. His wicket keeping has always been effective if not flamboyant. His batting though will be thoroughly tested by Australian pacers in this tough wickets.

Australians have a lot to pay India back for. The 2-0 'brownwash' in the 2010 series in India and the defeat in the quarter finals of the World Cup. Both teams have been beaten to pulp in the recent past by the Englishmen. This series will be a test of mettle for every player, more so for the two captains. There are some legends in both line ups. Hussey and Ponting for Australia and Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman for India. Some upcoming youngsters in Warner, Pattinson, Lyon, Ashwin, Kohli, Yadav, Sharma & Christian. After the short (two test series) & absorbing Australia - South Africa test series acted as an 'appetizer', this series is the best 'main course' a test cricket afficionado could have asked for. Come tomorrow, brace yourself for some sleepless mornings watching the match and restless days in anticipation for next day's play.

Indian Cricket since 1996 - Part 2

World Cup 1999 to World Cup 2003 eve

Pepsi World Cup 1999 in England

India headed for the World Cup with a good team and an experienced captain in Azharuddin. India began its campaign unsuccessfully with a defeat against South Africa, but hit a great low by losing to Zimbabwe in the next game falling prey to some extremely indisciplined bowling, terrible running between the wickets and Tendulkar’s absence from the team. This defeat made the next three group games must win for India. And they did just that. Ganguly & Dravid put up big hundreds to amass a score of 373 for 6 against Sri Lanka. In the super sixes, India faced eventual winners, Australia and lost convincingly despite a fighting hundred by Jadeja and a desperate partnership with Robin Singh. India faced Pakistan in the most awaited clash of the World Cup at a time when the two countries were engaged in a war back home. It was touted to be a high adrenaline match with tempers flaring. But it wasn’t to be, India trounced Pakistan in a relatively low scoring match where Indian bowlers came up trumps. India’s semi final hopes were dashed even before they played their last super six game against New Zealand owing to some funny calculation system adopted by ICC. India lost the match against New Zealand, and thus ended their campaign, where though lot was promised, not much was delivered. Dravid, Ganguly & Srinath were India’s stars from the World Cup. Dravid remained the highest scorers of the tournament.

1999

The unsuccessful World Cup campaign was dealt with severely by the BCCI and Azharuddin was sacked as captain & dropped from the team and Tendulkar was reinstated. Robin Singh was overlooked for he was the oldest member of the team at 36 and selectors looked at nurturing younger talent. India toured Sri Lanka for a tri series involving Australia. Indians played below par in the series and didn’t reach the finals despite Tendulkar’s century in severe back pain in a crucial match. Their next campaign was the Singapore Challenge against Zimbabwe & West Indies. India was crushed by Ricardo Powell who carted bowlers to all corners of the ground in the finals and we eventually lost.  Next up India won the DMC Cup, 2-1, played against West Indies at Toronto as Indian government refused to allow the team to play Pakistan even in a neutral venue due to political tensions. The team here was lead by Ganguly in Tendulkar and Jadeja’s absence. Ajay Jadeja was at the helm for the LG Cup held in Nairobi. India played the round robin games like real champions with unknown faces like Sunil Joshi and Vijay Bharadwaj making valuable contributions. But it was in the finals that India realised how inept we were at handling pressure.

After a more or less disappointing ODI season, India faced New Zealand at home in a three match test series. India won the series 1-0 on perfect featherbeds and dust bowls. The series would only be remembered for Tendulkar's first double century in the second test at Ahmedabad. In the ODI series that followed, India defeated New Zealand 3-2 in games most of which were high scoring. Tendulkar came up with his highest ODI score, 186* and India posted it highest ODI total 376.

This was followed by one of the most disappointing tours India has even been on, the tour down under. India’s morale wasn’t helped by the then secretary of BCCI predicting a 3-0 whitewash. It came true though. Australia blanked India 3-0 in the test series. Indians weren’t allowed to dominate a single session of play in the entire duration of the series. The only high points for India from the series were Tendulkar superb century at Melbourne, Laxman stunning 167 in an attempt to save the Sydney test and of course Tendulkar being adjudged Man of the Series despite his team’s loss. The test series loss affected the psyche of the players and the ODI series involving the hosts and Pakistan was no different. India only managed one win in the 8 matches they played in the series.

2000

South Africa toured India with a strong resolve to avenge their defeat in 1996. Hansie Cronje had put together a strong team, with a terrific batting line up and an equally strong bowling attack. India, for the first time in 13 years lost a home test series. South Africa defeated India 2-0. India had Tendulkar and Azharuddin scoring hundreds, but for South Africa it was their bowling which never let Indians dominate. Allan Donald was at his best, supported by Shaun Pollock and Nicky Boje. In the ODIs that followed India defeated South Africa 3-2 in the five match series. Sachin Tendulkar informed the BCCI that he would like to step down as the captain after the ODI series following two series defeats. The decision was shocking, but seemed to be in the best interest of the team as India really needed him as a batsman. Sourav Ganguly was soon handed over the mantle of captaincy of the Indian cricket team. His first two assignment as a captain were forgettable. The Coca Cola Cup at Sharjah against Pakistan and South Africa and the Asia Cup in Sharjah. India failed to reach the final in both and managed two wins both put together.

All was well with the world of cricket till Hansie Cronje decided to make a confession, a confession that was going to rock Cricket and scar the game.  Cronje, the maverick South African captain, pleaded guilty of accepting money to underperform. Not once, not twice, but on a number of times. This was going to open a can of worms. He would himself be banned for life by the CSA and his co-offenders Herschelle Gibbs, Henry Williams were handed suspensions. But for India, the can of worms was hurtful. Mohammed Azharuddin, one of the most respected figures in Cricket was banned for life for alleged involvement in the match fixing scandal, so were Ajay Sharma, former India cricketer and a Delhi Ranji player and Manoj Prabhakar. Five year suspensions were handed to current Indian cricketers Ajay Jadeja for alleged closeness with one of the bookies and Nayan Mongia who along with Prabhakar were accused to throwing a match against West Indies in 1994 by purposely batting slow. Indian Cricket stood jolted by two of their cult cricketers being suspended, one for lifetime and the other for 5 years.

With the appointment of former Kiwi opener John Wright and having got some time off the game to put behind the events that unfolded, India looked for some change of fortunes in the ICC Knockout Trophy in Nairobi, Kenya. India wasn’t rated too highly and weren’t expected do too well. India brushed aside Kenya to set a date with Australia in the quarterfinals. A match that will be remembered for Tendulkar sledging McGrath and charging down the track to hit him over long off. A mini collapse saw debutant Yuvraj Singh battling a lone battle. He scored a magnificent 84 off 81 balls as India toppled top ranked Aussies. Zaheer produced a peach of an inswinging yorker to see off Steve Waugh. Thus two warriors who would take India to the next generation were born. India defeated South Africa in the semi finals in  a clinical performance and met New Zealand in the finals. New Zealand had defeated the much favoured Pakistan in the semis and looked good as did India. India started confidently and looked to bat the Kiwis out of the game, but Chris Cairns had different ideas. He choked runs and Indian panicked. Lost wickets in a heap and could only manage a modest 264. Cairns again came to the Kiwi rescue and scored a brilliant hundred to break a million Indian hearts. India still took a lot of heart and positives from the tournament after coming back almost from the dead.

A disappointing three nation tournament in Sharjah against Sri Lanka & Zimbabwe followed. Indian batting hit rock bottom against Sri Lanka being dismissed for 54 on a senile Sharjah pitch. India also aided Muralitharan in getting his career best figures of 7/30 in one of the matches. India was one of the most vocal supporters of Bangadesh in getting their Test berth. Bangadesh also invited India to play the inaugural match in Dhaka. A workmanlike century by Captain Aminul Islam, a solid batting performance by Bangladesh & a fine all round effort by Sunil Joshi were the highlights of an otherwise dull game which India won by 9 wickets. India was then toured by Zimbabwe for two test and five one dayers. India won the first of two test and Zimbabwe managed to draw the second. Andy Flower was Zimbabwe hero scoring a mammoth 544 runs in two test matches that included a fantastic 232 not out at Nagpur. India thrashed Zimbabwe 4-1 in the one day series.

2001

India began preparing to host Australia for a three test match series. Australia had by then conquered everything they laid sight on. India was their “Last Frontier”. Indian batting looked strong but the bowling, feeble. Anil Kumble had been sidelined by a shoulder injury, and playing against Australia, India missed its frontline spinner. Harbhajan Singh who last played for India in 1999 was recalled into the team. The first test at Mumbai went as expected. Accurate Australian bowling had India in tatters in both innings and the visitors romped home by 10 wickets. Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh and another test recall VVS Laxman were the only positives from the match. Before the second test at Kolkata, Indian selectors scrutinized spinning options from all over the country to support Harbhajan. Australia started the 2^nd test on the right note, scoring around 400 runs on the first day. A Harbhajan hat trick in the last hour of play on the 1^st day jolted the Aussie march but when India came on to bat, the Aussie scored looked Himalayan. Replying to Australia’s 448, India was skittled out of for a measly 174 and were expectedly asked to follow on. Ganguly, in one of the moves that makes him one of the best to have lead India ever, sent Laxman one drop instead of Dravid who seemed to struggle a bit. Laxman looked in ominous touch. He and Dravid put on a gargantuan partnership of 361 taking India to safety. Laxman scored a phenomenal 281 and was ably supported by Dravid who scored 180. Putting Australia into bat in the 2^nd half of 1^st session of play on the 5^th day chasing 260, India struck gold with picking wickets early and at regular intervals. Hayden was the only confident looking Aussie. Harbhajan snared another 6 wickets and Australia succumbed to defeat in what could be described as one of the best Test matches of recent times. India had well and truly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. The third test at Chennai too was keenly competed. After a Hayden double century, a century by Tendulkar and another Harbhajan special with the ball, India were left to chase 126 on the final day. In the bid to score the runs quickly, India began to lose wickets in a heap. Harbhajan & Dighe displayed composure and took India to a fabulous 2 wicket win.  This series has gone down in the history of the game as one of the best competed.

India’s next assignment was a two test series in Zimbabwe followed by a tri series involving West Indies. India won the first test but on a bouncy, seaming track in the second test India lost the plot and the game. The series stood drawn 1-1 and India were embarrassed by the result. The ODI series was won by West Indies after defeating India in the finals. This was followed by a tough tour of Sri Lanka where India had to deal with total absence of Tendulkar owing to a back injury. The series saw the Indians play around with the batting order with only Ganguly remaining constant. This is also the series where Virender Sehwag emerged as an opener for India. His blazing 108 against New Zealand gave India a place in the finals they was eventually lost. The test series will be remembered for Muralitharan magic delivery to remove Indian opener Sadagopan Ramesh, bowling him with a delivery that pitched way down leg stump. After losing the first test convincingly, India pulled back the second at Kandy, but lost the third test by an innings. 

India’s tour of South Africa will be remembered for two major events. One, the debut of Virender Sehwag who scored a magnificent ton his first test alongside Tendulkar who scored blazing ton to take India to safety and two the Mike Denness issue where the match referee accused Indians of over appealing suspending Sehwag for a match and accusing Tendulkar of ball tampering in the  second test. The issue was blown out of proportion by the BCCI and ensured change of match referee in the 3^rd test. After losing the first test and drawing the second, India played South Africa in an unofficial third test for India refused to play the test when Sehwag’s suspension wasn’t revoked. The tri series involving the two teams and Kenya was won by South Africa. India reached its low point when they lost to Kenya in one of the league matches. The final between India and South Africa was a one sided affair where accurate bowling by the hosts had the Indian batting hopping on a placid track at Durban. South Africa won the series and left India with some thinking to do.

2002

England toured India with a team less than full strength. But lead by shrewd Nasser Hussain, it showed it didn’t lack character and will to fight. After losing the first test in Mohali, they drew the next two tests. Hussain got Giles to bowl outside the leg stump to Tendulkar to curtail his run and frustrate him. Giles did succeed in getting the maestro out stumped by persevering bowling the same line. The ODI series that followed was again well competed in by England. After conceding a lead of 3-1 to India, England came back to square the series, 3-3.

India toured West Indies in the summer of 2002 hoping to change fortunes from their previous Caribbean tour in 1997. First test was a drawn after fine performances by Chanderpaul & Hooper for West Indies and a fine hundred by Laxman for India after which rain took over. India won the second test at Port of Spain but lost the third. The 4th match was a high scoring draw. Anil Kumble's dedication towards the game was at the fore when he came on to bowl after a Merv Dillon delivery broke his jaw while batting. He not only bowled but picked the wicket of Brian Lara. The hosts wrapped up the series with a fine win in the fifth test. West Indies gave a terrific account of themselves with brilliant performances by Chanderpaul, Hooper & Dillon.

India's tour of England in late summer was monumental for reasons more than one. India won the Natwest Trophy triangular series and also drew the test series 1-1. The Natwest final win is considered amongst India's best till date. The way the two youngsters, Yuvraj & Kaif took India to the finishing line was remarkable. A win became a distant dream when the India was at 140 for 5 in 23 overs. Yuvraj, Ganguly & Tendulkar had a wonderful series with the bat. The Test series saw the rise of Indian batting line which after losing the first test at Lord's played exceedingly well in the next three to win the third test at Headingly by an innings and salvage a drawn series. Dravid was in sublime form with two centuries and Sehwag, Tendulkar, Ganguly & Agarkar chipped in with a century each.

The Champions Trophy of 2002 boosted India's confidence going into the 2003 World Cup. India played with great flair and excellent camaraderie and eased through Zimbabwe, England to meet South Africa in the semi finals. In a chase of 262, Proteas were easing at 194 for 1 when Gibbs retired hurt after scoring 116. The rest of the team fell like pack of cards to lose the game by 10 runs. India met Sri Lanka in two rain curtailed finals and the trophy was shared. India seemed to have found its combination for the World Cup.

India convincingly beat the touring West Indies 2-0 in the test series and the ODI series was looked at as an opportunity to tinker with the team composition. India tried out many combinations and in a high scoring series West Indies outran India 4-3. India, before the World Cup made a trip to New Zealand for a two test and seven ODI series. In typical seaming, bowler friendly wickets India lost to the hosts 2-0 in a low scoring test series and 5-2 in the ODI series. India bowling was flourishing but the batting seemed to have taken a battering with the exception of Sehwag who scored two centuries in the ODIs. Ganguly was apologetic with his team's performance. These pitches seemed to India like how spin minefields seem like to visiting tourists in India. He though had no reason to be too apologetic about. India had done exceedingly well over the last 12 months and one off series wouldnt affect their World Cup preparations much.

Sourav Ganguly over the last year and a half had done world a good for the Indian team. Test wins in West Indies and England, the Natwest Series win, shared trophy at the ICC Champions Trophy; he had proved to be one of the best captains in recent times. Not only that, the team respected him as a leader and he showed confidence in youngsters in the team. Yuvraj, Kaif, Dinesh Mongia, Zaheer, Nehra, Harbhajan, Parthiv Patel were all players who bloomed under his captaincy. He showed confidence in Rahul Dravid by bringing him back into the ODI team and made him wear the wicket keeping gloves so he could have the luxury of playing an extra batsman. India were well on their way towards a great World Cup campaign lead by Ganguly, under the guidance of coach John Wright.

Indian Pace Attack: Is the best yet to come?

The West Indian pace quartet of the 70s & 80s, Walsh-Ambrose in the 90s; Thomson-Lillee & McGrath, Lee & Gillespie for Australia; Allan Donald-Shaun Pollock for South Africa; Wasim-Waqar and later Shoaib Akhtar for Pakistan have all been potent new ball handlers & partnerships oppositions have feared and been wary of and have been hugely instrumental in their team’s successes during their careers. India’s fiercest new ball combo, even though they lacked express pace has been of Kapil Dev & Prabhakar who operated together in the late eighties and early nineties. Kapil’s retirement put extra pressure on a young Javagal Srinath; arguably India’s finest produce in the fast bowling department. He was quick, could swing both ways and be intimidating too. Prabhakar’s form dipped and wasn’t anymore the effective bowler who was once Miandad’s nemeses; now concentrated on his new role as an opening batsman. A lanky Venkatesh Prasad shouldered responsibility and Srinath-Prasad combo operated for India from 1996-2000. They will never be counted amongst the best ever; but were hard working and effective for India. Indian cricket, since the retirement of these two have suffered to find one fast bowling combination which would last for more than a year. Zaheer has spearheaded the attack since Srinath’s retirement but with minimal & inconsistent support from the other end.

Ajit Agarkar, Ashish Nehra, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh, Sreesanth, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Tinu Yohannan, VRV Singh, L Balaji and many more to add in the ODI format. India, like any other country has produced a battery of pacers but none who seems adept enough to carry forward a big responsibility. Every bowler India tried in this meanwhile has shown initial zest & promise but mysteriously fizzles out.

Irfan Pathan’s yorker to send back Gilchrist in his debut series is still unforgotten and so is his first over hat-trick against Pakistan at Karachi. Irfan started with a bang and was already touted to be the next big thing on the cricketing horizon and he slowly faded out and now doesn’t ever cross the 130 kmph mark let alone finding his in-swinging yorkers. A shoulder injury and subsequent loss of form and confidence could be blamed for his fall.

Munaf Patel even before his domestic debut was touted to be India’s fastest ever. Following his international debut and few successes, he has looked a pale shadow of himself. Fitness issues too have marred his career.

RP Singh began with a bang and promised a great lot following his Man of the Match performance in his debut test against Pakistan but slipped back and now struggles to find rhythm.

Sreesanth remains his mercurial self. Will bowl exceptionally well on his day and concede runs in torrents wicket less on a day that’s not his. More concentration on the game than his antics on field could help him develop further.

And Ishant Sharma, a gawky teen who troubled Ricky Ponting on his home turf and found reputation to be India’s quickest and most exciting bowler in a long time has totally lost confidence and has burrowed into a shell he and his coaches have no clue how to get him out of.

The only able partner Zaheer found has been in Nehra. Nehra, when fit and selected has been an asset to the team in all forms of the game. But fitness has been his undoing since the beginning of his career. We haven’t seen someone like a Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait, Mohammed Aamer, Lasith Malinga or Dale Steyn. Our bowlers have never been express fast, but they also have lacked wicket taking capabilities. The mysterious shell that Indian pacers take shelter in once established has to be unearthed and found a solution to. It has become a perennial problem for Indian pacers that existed even two decades back in the 80s when exciting fast bowlers like Chetan Sharma, Vivek Razdan, Atul Wassan, Salil Ankola, Subroto Banerjee followed by the likes of Dodda Ganesh, Paras Mhambrey, Abey Kuruvilla, Debashis Mohanty, Harvinder Singh & David Johnson amongst others in the 90s decade showed promise to only fade away soon without trace.

Pakistan, Australia & South Africa on the other hand have been very successful in finding able replacements for their yesteryears’ stars. That’s what makes them strong teams to play against in seaming, bouncy conditions. Indian batsmen are found wanting while countering bounce & swing and they don’t consistently possess a bowling attack that could trouble an opposition on such tracks either. Each team at least has one bowler who can clock up to 85 mph consistently. And India’s search for one such prodigious talent hasn’t borne fruit yet.

India’s march to the top of the table in the Test rankings hasn’t been easy. Tougher than that is going to be how they plan to cement their place there. For that and also the fast approaching 2011 World Cup, India needs a fast bowling attack they can rely on to win matches. Apart from those already in line to support Zaheer; Jaidev Unadkat, Abhimanyu Mithun, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pradeep Sangwan, Umesh Yadav & Ashok Dinda are youngsters who’ve shown promise, talent and ability to carry forward the baton of fast bowling to the next level for Indian cricket.