India vs Australia: A tour like no other

Would the postponement of the first Test by five days give India that much extra time to prepare and do the unthinkable in Australia – that of winning the elusive Test series Down Under? Yes, one would think so.

Those days from December 4, the scheduled start of the first Test in Brisbane, to December 9, rescheduled Day One of the first Test in Adelaide, is like last-minute revisions before the annual exams, hurriedly going through the lessons with just minutes left for the bell to ring and the assessments to commence.

Since landing in Australia on November 22 and playing two two-day matches, India have been doing all that they could to get into the Test match mode, playing intra-squad matches at around the time the scheduled second warm-up game was cancelled due to the tragic loss of Phillip Hughes.

Warming-up for summer

Going by India's performances in the two warm-up games, they are up for it, the batsmen getting a good feel of the conditions and picking up runs while the bowlers hitting the right form.

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting on Tuesday at the Adelaide Oval, the very venue where Virat Kohli scored his maiden Test century – 116 – on India's last tour there 34 months ago and has since gone on to become one of the hottest property in cricket today – could mark a positive beginning to India's long Australian summer, beginning with the four-Test series followed by the tri-series and the all-important World Cup.

India can draw inspiration from the 2003 Test, where Rahul Dravid's majestic 233 and VVS Laxman's caressing 148 paved the way for their lone victory at this picturesque venue in 10 attempts since 1948.

It is to India's advantage that the series is starting at the Adelaide Oval. India will feel at home in this venue where the conditions might make them feel at home with good batting conditions and purchase for the bowlers who bend their backs, hitting the right areas, as they say. Though only six of the touring squad have the previous experience of playing Tests in Australia, most of the other youngsters have been regulars there, being part of the India 'A' tours on an annual basis.

India adds pace

There will the general misconception that India will struggle in Australia just because they lost 1-3 after beginning brilliantly earlier this year. At the Old Blighty, India were done in by the sideways movement as much as by the lack of bowlers to pick up 20 wickets — barring the memorable effort at Lord's. Only Bhuvneshwar Kumar looked to pick up wickets, while Ishant Sharma shone only at Lord's.

But much has improved since. The recent home series against Sri Lanka has brought to light the pace with which our bowlers can deliver, ready to take the chin music to the Australian batsmen and give them a taste of their own medicine.

The likes of Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav will be raring to go full blast and make good use of the bounce. Bhuvneshwar will be expected to move the ball sideways regularly, something that legendary Kapil Dev did in Adelaide on the 1985-86 tour when he took eight for 106 in the first innings of the first Test.

So close...

It was in that series nearly three decades ago that India came close to winning the series Down Under. India's batsmen dominated the series while spinners Ravi Shastri and Shivlal Yadav, currently the director of cricket of Team India and interim president of the BCCI respectively, nearly bowled India to victory in the third Test in Sydney but for weather interruption on the penultimate day after Australia were forced to follow on.

Worst came in the second Test in Melbourne where India were cruising towards a target of 126 when the sky opened up and denied them a win. The 0-0 draw then was a victory of sorts. India also had to blame themselves. If only they had shown some sense of urgency to score the required runs…

From draws to win

Those were the days when India, who were known to tour poorly, were pleased with draws. This mindset changed when Sourav Ganguly took over the captaincy in the first half of 2000 and India began to show the keenness to win overseas, managing an odd one here and there. Wins came in Australia and South Africa and under Ganguly, India were not afraid to take on the opposition heads on in their own den. The Adelaide win in 2003 and the Perth triumph in 2008 in the aftermath of the Monkeygate controversy the previous Test in Sydney stand out as a couple of India's greatest Test wins.

Gone also are the days when the batsmen made their initial backwards movement before deciding to play off the front foot or the back foot. Pranab Roy, former India opener with two Test experience, said that the current players are unafraid to take the bowlers on the front foot.

Roy recently said that "the initial backwards movement was the first line of defence for the batsman, giving him that additional fraction of a second to see better."
He gave the example of Sunil Gavaskar, with whom he opened in his two Tests, how his initial movement backwards gave him that extra fraction of a second to decide to play the ball off the front foot or the back foot.

Kohli is the key

It is this aggression that has become the feature of the young Indian team in recent times. And who better to be a leader of the pack than Kohli. Ravi Shastri, no mean cricketer and thinker of the game himself, said prior to the team's departure on November 21, "It might be his (Kohli's) first Test match as captain but I can assure you, you will see a guy who you feel has led in 20 to 25 Test matches."

Shastri was the Champion of Champions in the 1985 Benson and Hedges series in Australia and scorer of 206 in the 1992 Sydney Test.

Kohli, in all likelihood, will lead India in the first Test even though the regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni will join the squad before the series gets under way. Kohli may have to wait if Dhoni decides to step on to the field for the toss.

However, if Kohli does lead in the first Test, it will give a glimpse of how good a captain he can be in Test conditions, even though he may have won two bilateral series 5-0, in Zimbabwe in 2013 and at home against Sri Lanka last month.

What about Aussies?

Australia have not had any chance to win mind games ahead of the series. There has not been the usual war cry through the media, barring Glenn McGrath's 4-0 prediction in favour of Australia, as they have been completely shaken by passing away of Hughes, who had a good chance of making it to the Test squad.

Come Tuesday, there will be that huge void when the Australians take on the field, a lump in the throat of Michael Clarke, should the hamstrung skipper be passed fit, when he goes out to toss in his 'little brother' Hughes's adopted home ground.

Should the Indians take advantage of the grieving Aussies, who may still not have recovered from the shock death of one of their mates, and play aggressively right from start?

Even otherwise, this Indian team is ready to take on the might of Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris and also unsettle their batsman right from David Warner and Chris Rogers at the top through to Shane Watson, Mitch Marsh and Steven Smith, not to mention Clarke.

From Australia's point of view, they will be doubly determined to play for their dear friend and go hard at the opposition.

Testing times
While Brisbane and the Boxing Day Melbourne Tests will test the Indians in all departments, Sydney, the venue of the traditional New Year Test, is known to assist spin.

If at all teams consider going with two spinners in their XI in Australia, it has been only in Sydney. It is here that Ravichandran Ashwin, who in his previous trip was still raw and not exposed to such foreign conditions, will have to prove his worth. Enough has been said about Ashwin not getting chances overseas to prove his merit. He cannot be ducking under that cover any more.

Same with the rest of the players. One player who will be particularly keen to succeed will be Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara. The Saurashtra batsman has been keeping himself busy by playing in domestic matches – and even striking form in the Duleep Trophy and Vijay Hazare prior to the departure for Australia — while most of his teammates were involved in the international series against West Indies and Sri Lanka. It is particularly tough on Pujara to be just a Test specialist while the others play all the formats and are exposed to better quality international opposition. Blame it on luck or whatever, Pujara missed out on three Tests, courtesy the West Indies abandoning their tour of India abruptly over pay issue.

Cricket Down Under

Cricket in Australia brought to the Indian homes is a unique experience and gets only better with every passing year. More so when the Indians are touring. Early morning alarms set to 5.30 to catch live action from the first ball with Mark Nicholas and Mark Taylor, and other gems of cricketers-turned-commentators synonymous with Australian cricket broadcast. The legendary Richie Benaud and Bill Lawry, known more by the current generation for their commentary than for their legendary playing days, will be keenly awaited.

As keenly awaited as an India series win Down Under. In the 10 series that have been played in Australia, the tourists have lost seven and drawn 3. A series win this time around will be an encouraging result go into the World Cup.

And for that to happen, a good start will keep the morale also going. Like Shastri said recently, "We will be out there putting our best foot forward. It's a great opportunity for youngsters where if you have self-belief and back yourself that you will do well, you will come out as a different cricket altogether."

A cricket tour of Australia is like no other.


INDIA'S PERFORMANCES AT THE 4 VENUES THAT HOST THE TESTS THIS TIME:
In Adelaide: Played 10; India won: 1; Australia won: 6; Drawn: 3
In Brisbane: Played 5; India won: 0; Australia won: 4; Drawn: 1
In Melbourne: Played 11; India won: 2; Australia won: 8; Drawn: 1
In Sydney: Played 10; India won: 1; Australia won: 5; Drawn: 4

Head-to-head in Australia (Tests): Played: 40; India won: 5; Australia won: 26; Drawn: 9
Head-to-head in Australia (series): Played: 10; India won: 0; Australia won: 7; Drawn: 3

India's Test wins in Australia:
1. Melbourne, 1977-78: Won by 222 runs
2. Sydney, 1977-78: Won by an innings and 2 runs
3. Melbourne, 1980-81: Won by 59 runs
4. Adelaide, 2003-04: Won by 4 wickets
5: Perth, 2008-09: Won by 72 runs