Sport

Indians take on determined Aussies

— Photo: K. Bhagya Prakash

BATTLE ROYALE LOOMS: Millions of fans would be hoping that Ricky Ponting’s Australians and Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Indians would come up with some exciting contests in their quest to lift the Future Cup.

Bangalore: Almost midway through the practice session at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Team India got together for a familiar huddle. It was a moment of quiet resilience.

A fresh challenge awaits the side and a new beginning has to be made. The demands of the modern itinerary are such that there is not even time to cherish triumphs.

And an Australian team, smarting under the ICC World Twenty20 semifinal setback, is bound to come hard at the Indians. Saturday’s match will be Australia’s first ODI after the ICC World Cup triumph in the West Indies.

Like Test cricket, the ODI game is an Australian bastion. Ricky Ponting and his men are the World champions. This is an outfit with flair, consistency and mental attributes.

In a format that is a more complete test of limited-over skills, the Indians need to lift their game. This includes sustaining their intensity throughout the 100 possible overs. As the game lengthens, it is harder to hide chinks.

Ponting, though, will not be leading Australia in the first ODI of the seven-match Future Cup series beginning here on Saturday; the Australian skipper has still not completely recovered from a hamstring strain.

Ponting trained with the side on Friday but as physio Alex Kountouri told The Hindu, “we have a long season ahead and we do not want to take a risk. He (Ponting) is very keen to play and he probably would punch me if he didn’t play the next game, but he is not playing this game as a precautionary measure.”

The day/night game will be played on what appeared a dry surface that could assist spin as the game progresses. On the flip side, the spinners could struggle under the lights due to the dew factor.

The Aussies have indulged in mind games. But then, stand-in captain Adam Gilchrist asserted that this was not a deliberate ploy to unsettle the host. He said the Indians had played with aggression and fire in the Twenty20 competition and saw nothing wrong in a paceman having fire in the belly. This, in any case, is the time for the action to commence leaving behind the war of words.

As Gilchrist observed, they will be banking on depth in their ranks; no side has a greater bench strength than Australia.

Six Australians, who were part of the World Cup-winning squad, will be missing for various reasons but Gilchrist was confident about Australia finding the right answers on this campaign.

The Australians will be without Glenn McGrath’s precision and craft and this is a huge void to fill.

The campaign in India presents a wonderful opportunity for Stuart Clark to grow in stature. Much hinges on the kind of support he can lend to the fiery Brett Lee. Mitchell Johnson’s left-arm swing and cut add variety to the attack. Pace-bowling allrounder James Hopes could come into the picture as the series develops. Gilchrist said Brad Hogg’s left-arm chinaman bowling would be a key element of Australia’s plans.

If Australia is hit by the absence of a few experienced cricketers, there has been much debate about a few heavyweights returning to the Indian side.

But then, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly had delivered against England, even if India finished at the wrong end of the decider. They deserve to retain places in the ODI format. Senior left-arm paceman Zaheer Khan should add to the attack, which is likely to have two off-spinners. The Aussies have struggled against quality off-spin.

It will not be easy for the team-management to pick the eleven and a few tough decisions may have to be made.

Gilchrist expects no favours from the Indians. “They played with passion and fire in the World Twenty20. They are a threat,” he acknowledged.

In the afternoon, Ponting and Mahendra Singh Dhoni officially launched the Future Cup series at the Team hotel.

The teams:

India (from): M.S. Dhoni (captain), S. Tendulkar, S. Ganguly, G. Gambhir, R. Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, I. Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, R. Powar, Zaheer Khan, R.P. Singh, S. Sreesanth, R. Uthappa, D. Karthik.

Australia (from): A. Gilchrist (captain), M. Hayden, B. Hodge, M. Clarke, A. Symonds, B. Haddin, J. Hopes, B. Hogg, B. Lee, S. Clark, M. Johnson, B. Hilfenhaus, A. Voges.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor and Suresh Shastri. Third umpire: Amish Sahiba; Match Referee: Chris Broad.

Play begins at 2.30 p.m.

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