Forget the verbal wars, it's crunch-time now

By Vijay Lokapally

MARGAO, APRIL 5. On surface they appear to be just two professional cricket teams. But scratch them a little and beneath lies a very different character. The Indian and Australian cricketers can not stand the sight of each other and that has emerged an unfortunate reality of the Test and One-day series.

The acrimony between the teams has reached a flashpoint and the One-day series is set for an explosive finale if the aggressive body language of the two teams is any indication.

The Indians are seething with rage at the media war being waged against them by the Australians. The Australians, on their part, have been exploring all avenues to reach their destination. With the series tied at 2-2, the final clash at the Nehru Stadium at Fotorda here is expected to generate plenty of heat in both the camps.

But cricket seems to have taken the backstage as the cold war between the cricketers has come to the fore towards the end of the series. Relations between the Indian and Australian teams had never been so poor.

Skipper Sourav Ganguly, suffering a terrible loss of form, made a brave effort to come to his team's rescue when he made a candid admission of what he thought of the behind-the-scene efforts by the Australians, who have been reportedly sledging non-stop during the series.

``When they (Australians) do it, it is called gamesmanship. When we do it, it is called misbehaviour,'' he protested mildly.

Administrative manager Chetan Chauhan, guarded in what he spoke, took up the cause of the players by trying to convey his feelings on how his lads were being portrayed as the brats and the Aussies very well-behaved.

``Besides cricket, there are other things going on and plenty of pressure is being created on the Indians through the media. Lot of pressure is being applied on the Indians and so many gestures have been made by the opposition. All this is not at all in the best interest of the game,'' he summed up the feelings of the Indian dressing room.

Neither the manager nor the skipper is allowed to speak on this subject but obviously things have reached a stage where the home team has decided to make the picture clear, even at the cost of aggravating matters.

``You have seen it all. There have been lot of replays about those incidents. I don't have to be specific about it,'' Chauhan said, insisting that he was choosing his words carefully. But then the manager was not willing to name the culprits even though he was too happy to make the issue a public debate.

Chauhan clarified that he was in no position to protest since the playing conditions did not allow such a scope. ``But,'' he said with a smile, ``the information has been passed on to the Match Referee.'' He, however, would not elaborate on which specific incidents the Match Referee was informed of.

Incidentally, the Match Referee, Cammie Smith, is understood to have summoned the two team managements for a meeting here to ease the matters.

Umpires too not spared

The ire of the Australians has been aimed at the umpires too, with captain Steve Waugh too reportedly an active member of this group. The sledging and abusive language against the umpires has been on the increase and what has amazed the Indian team is the fact that the visitors have been allowed to get away with such bad behaviour.

Well, the fault certainly lies with the umpires who have allowed the Australians to escape any punishment despite being abused on the field. But the visiting team better watch out for one of the umpires here, Mr. Subroto Porel, who is quite a tough customer.

After losing the Test series, the Australians have tried every method, from gamesmanship to the sickening sledging methods, to try and win a point. Of course the standards of umpiring may have been disappointing but it should not take away any credit from the Indians' improved performances.

As pointed out by a member of the team, the Australians have carried their reputation of being aggressive a bit too far. There was this incident, one has learnt, of the Australian coach John Buchanan confronting Javagal Srinath for repeatedly coming off the field in one of the One-day matches.

The Indian speedster, stunned initially by this verbal attack, did not lose time in returning the compliments. He was as harsh as the Aussie coach, who was told to mind his business.

Off the field, the Australians have reportedly not been really popular with the fans and the hotel staff at various centres. The Indian team insists it had not come across a more ill-mannered side than this bunch of Australians.

Toss, a vital factor

Against this backdrop, the teams take the field on Friday on a strip which is likely to pose problems in the second half of the contest. The toss, thus, becomes a vital factor and it was understandable when Ganguly bemoaned ``games shouldn't be decided on toss but on how the team plays.''

He appeared to have read the pitch a little even though it was damp this afternoon. ``I won't get a fair idea of the pitch until tomorrow,'' he added quickly.

Ganguly's worries are manifold. His batting woes have been compounded by the inconsistency of the bowlers. ``They haven't bowled well I know but we have to give them some breathing space because the pitches are so flat. Even the Australian bowlers have gone for a few but we have to improve tomorrow, no doubt. I don't like a situation where runs are conceded from both the ends,'' Ganguly said.

The battlelines are drawn with both the camps having studied each other enough over the past two months. Ricky Ponting has returned to form; Matthew Hayden maintains his tremendous form; Michael Bevan and Andrew Symonds would like to leave a mark. The Indian bowlers indeed have a fight on hand.

The Indians are riding high on the evergreen Sachin Tendulkar; the newly-discovered gladiator V.V.S. Laxman; the competent Rahul Dravid and Hemang Badani; and the young brigade of Vijay Dahiya, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, and of course, hoping for a timely revival of Ganguly's fortunes.

The Indians have left out Robin Singh and Dinesh Mongia from the twelve, and Ganguly indicated the possibility of playing Yuveraj Singh.

The chaos at the venue added to the carnival atmosphere that prevailed on the eve of this contest, with confusion galore regarding accreditation of various categories. The mediamen were in for trouble as the telephone officials threatened to wind up their services due to non-issuance of passes.

The heat and humidity added to the woes of everyone. As one left the stadium, a local sounded a warning note on the weatherfront. ``There is forecast of rain on Friday. The heat is enough indication.''

A washout, as has been the case on two occasions in the past at this venue, could be a let-down. How about a tie? Possibly the best result involving teams who have produced some wonderful cricket thus far.

The teams (from):

India: Sourav Ganguly (Captain), Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Rahul Dravid, Hemang Badani, Vijay Dahiya, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Javagal Srinath, Yuveraj Singh, Robin Singh, Dinesh Mongia and Sarandeep Singh.

Australia: Steve Waugh (Captain), Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Andrew Symonds, Ian Harvey, Shane Lee, Glenn McGrath, Damien Fleming, Shane Warne, Darren Lehmann and Nathan Bracken.

Umpires: Messrs Subroto Porel and Francis Gomes; Third umpire: Mr. K. Murali; Reserve umpire: Mr. K.R. Shankar; Match Referee: Mr. Cammie Smith.

Hours of play: 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.; 1.15 p.m. onwards.

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