Steve Waugh determined keep pressure on India

By Malcolm Conn

CALCUTTA, MARCH 13. As Australia presses towards its first series victory in India for 31 years during a second Test which has regained its spirit, the contrast between this tour and the last could not be greater. Not even a brilliant century from V.V.S. Laxman, his second against Australia, seems enough to prevent Australia from claiming a 17th consecutive victory.

That the home side, boasting the best batsman in the world, had been reduced to 128- 8 overnight and was eventually dismissed for 171 in the first innings was largely down to one man, Glenn McGrath, who finished with 4-18 from 14 overs. He and Jason Gillespie were both injured and did not make the tour here

three years ago. The difference in their presence this time, and

particularly McGrath, could not be more obvious.

It was Gillespie who made the single most significant contribution on Tuesday, removing Sachin Tendulkar for 10, and McGrath who claimed the vital breakthrough late in the day, producing a wicket from nowhere to remove Sourav Ganguly for 48, ending a 117 partnership.

Following Tendulkar's second failure in the match courtesy of a rare poorly-judged drive, Steve Waugh took the opportunity to compound the pressure on his struggling opposing captain, employing four slips, two gullies and only one man on the leg side, a short leg, when Gillespie was bowling.

Virtually the same field was employed after tea when Michael Kasprowicz was bowling reverse swing to the left hander. Call it arrogance, call it confidence, this was yet another sign of the state of mind and state of play between the two teams.

In 1998 Australia lost the opening two Tests to go down 2-1 in the series. In both successful matches India set the games up with century opening stands - 122 in the first and 191 in the second. Compare that to this series, when India was dismissed for 176 in the opening innings of the first Test and even fewer here. The vital ingredient has been McGrath and Gillespie knocking the top off the batting order to set up the match for Australia.

When India began its second innings on Tuesday McGrath had the most extra-ordinary series figures of 50.1 overs, 30 maidens and had taken 9-62 at an average of 6.88. This is mindblowing given the relatively slow, low nature of the wickets and the unforgiving speed of the outfield when a bad ball is dispatched. McGrath does not seem to bowl bad balls.

On the previous tour there were numerous questions asked about Shane Warne when he did not dominate. ``What is wrong with Warne?'' I was asked time and again. There were two simple answers, a damaged shoulder which needed major surgery but, more importantly, there was no McGrath. Without his early lightning strikes Warne was left bowling to set batsmen willing to take him on in the knowledge that they had a full batting list to follow.

It is a very different scenario if Warne is coming on with two or three cheap wickets already down and the middle order under pressure.

It is doubtful Steve Waugh gave any serious consideration to batting again so his bowlers could rest. Between them they had delivered only 46 overs to stumps the previous day and continued for just 55 minutes. Waugh is a great believer in the use of psychological force in the pursuit of victory and is determined to keep the Indian batsmen in a submissive state of mind.

One of his great captaincy regrets was not asking the West Indies to bat first in Jamaica during the second Test two years ago after Australia won the first in Trinidad by bowling the home side out for just 51.

He used McGrath and Gillespie for just three overs each in the first innings on Tuesday before throwing the ball to Warne and Kasprowicz.

Laxman, who has a fine record against Australia, played some nice shots on the way to a first innings 59. He had a 42-run last- wicket partnership with Prasad, the same as Steve Waugh and McGrath added in Australia's first innings. This gave the crowd something to cheer about after Australia completely

dominated the second day and Laxman gave more cheer later in the afternoon. There can be few men in Test cricket who have scored a half-century a century in the one day and fewer who have done it with such style and grace. His three fours in one over from Kasprowicz to bring up the second 50 - a pull, on-drive and cover-drive - was exceptional cricket and he used his feet to Warne like few batsmen in the spin-master's eight-year career to hand out rare punishment.

Laxman showed once again that it is possible to counterpunch against these mean and menacing Australians but form and confidence are fickle commodities which still seem in short supply for India at the moment.

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