Sport

Australia has everything to play for

— Photo: S. Subramanium

ONE LAST BOW: Sourav Ganguly will be keen to make his final Test a memorable one.

NAGPUR: So much has been crammed into the days preceding the fourth Test, like olives pickled in a porcelain jar, it’s a measure of the import of the contest that the game has stayed centre stage.

Sourav Ganguly’s final Test; V.V.S. Laxman’s 100th; the first after Anil Kumble, and the first under M.S. Dhoni (not counting when he has stood in for the great man); Gautam Gambhir’s failed appeal at overturning a one-Test ban: each in itself might have distracted a nation that follows stars more fervently than it does cricket.

But the fourth Test — which begins on Thursday at the new VCA Stadium, 15 km from the city — contains a significance that transcends its actors. For only the second time since the turn of the millennium, Australia approaches the final Test fighting not for a series victory but parity.

The last time this happened was the 2005 Ashes, which was also the last series the world champion lost. Australia’s only other series loss since 2000 was to India during the storied tour of 2001.

India, leading 1-0 courtesy the 320-run win in the second Test at Mohali, has a gilt-lined opportunity to wrest the Border-Gavaskar Trophy from the Jolimont premises of Cricket Australia (where it has resided for the last four years), and, in so doing, marginally re-align the lattices of world cricket.

“This is probably as big a Test match as a lot of us have played,” admitted Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain. “Being one nil down with one to play is a position that a lot of us haven’t been in before. We pride ourselves on playing well in big games, and this is a great opportunity.”

Australia will benefit from Gambhir’s ban. The left-hander, in the form of his life, had ruthlessly exposed the lack of penetration of the touring side’s attack. His absence opens up a point of entry to the battle-hardened Indian middle-order.

Dhoni said M. Vijay, called up from Nashik where he made a double-hundred in a Ranji Trophy match, will replace Gambhir in the eleven; but ever the canny manipulator of the media, aware of the possibilities of speculation, Dhoni added that the option of asking Rahul Dravid to open, and slotting S. Badrinath in the middle-order wasn’t foreclosed.

Dravid, under medication for the flu, missed Wednesday’s practice at the old VCA Stadium, but is expected to recover. In the last two years, he has progressed to 50 and beyond just nine times in 45 innings, getting to a 100 only twice in those nine instances. It has been a curious slump for one so great, and perhaps the occasion and the illness will bring the best out of this fierce competitor.

Both India and Australia made recce trips to Jamtha to assess conditions at the new VCA Stadium, where no first class cricket has been played. They came away with the impression that the pitch doesn’t differ significantly in flatness from the adjoining highway; the toss therefore will be crucial.

“It’s very hard, there are some surface cracks on the wicket, and there is no grass on it,” said Ponting.

“But it is that redder sort of clay. Most of the wickets in India that have that sort of soil tend to spin a little more. I think it is going to be a very good batting wicket for the first few days and it probably won’t bounce much as the game goes on.”

Dhoni suggested that the abrasive conditions might breed reverse swing early — so much a part of the win in Mohali, but negligible in Delhi.

“If the new ball doesn’t swing, the only way the fast bowlers can have an impact is to maintain the ball and reverse the swing,” he said. “You have to keep it nice and hard as well as dry.”

India was let down in Delhi by the inability to sustain bowling intensity and the sloppiness of the catching.

It will have to tighten its discipline, never wavering from the commitment to attacking Australia.

More is known about Amit Mishra, and it will be interesting to see how the young leg-spinner (who troubled Ganguly in the nets) adapts.

Australia has bowling troubles of its own, although Brett Lee’s performance in the second innings in Delhi offered evidence of a turnaround. Ponting is almost certain to punt on Jason Krejza’s off-spin — not necessarily a sign of desperation, but certainly an indication that Australia will thrust harder. India mustn’t content itself merely with parrying.

The sides (from):

India: M.S. Dhoni (Capt.), Virender Sehwag, M. Vijay, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, V.V.S. Laxman, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel, R.P. Singh, and S. Badrinath.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (Capt.), Matthew Hayden, Simon Katich, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark, Cameron White, Jason Krejza, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger, and Shaun Marsh.

Umpires: Aleem Dar and Billy Bowden; TV umpire: Suresh Shastri; Match referee: Chris Broad.

Hours of play: 9.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m., 12.10 p.m. to 2.10 p.m., and 2.30 p.m. to close.

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