 India take on Australia in the first Test match of the two game series
that will be played at Mohali. This match will be followed by another Test match
and three ODIs before Australia prepare themselves for the Ashes. India play New
Zealand next.
The Indians will be going into this game knowing well that in the two Test
series against serious opposition this year, they have gone down in the first
Test match. India had lost to South Africa in the first Test match at
home and then went down to Sri Lanka in a first game at Galle in Sri Lanka.
Fortunately for the Indians, they came back strongly in both the series and
drew them, but expecting them to do it again, and against a side like Australia
will be difficult.
Click for Live Score Card of India vs AustraliaSo, the Indians will look to make sure that they go into the game totally prepared.
For one, MS Dhoni will hope that he wins the toss and can bat first on the Mohali
track. Usually, the track is good for batting on all the five days of the game,
but over the fourth and the fifth, it begins to assist the slower bowlers and
the seamers who can reverse swing the ball.
This will mean that the Indians will need to get their batting right. For now,
Gambhir has had issues with form and injuries, while Rahul Dravid failed
in almost all the games in Sri Lanka. MS Dhoni's not had the best in Test matches,
and that can only mean that the pressure will be on the likes of Sehwag, Tendulkar
and Laxman to come up with the goods. Suresh Raina will be in the starting eleven,
but he can be rest assured that the Aussies will test him out with the short
balls and bouncers.
Australia will welcome back Doug Bollinger and Michael Hussey into the
side. what they will also hope for is that the one spinner who will play in
the Test, Nathan Hauritz comes good. Usually, the Indians are good players
of spin, but therein could like their Achilles Heel as well - overconfidence.
What needs to be seen is how the fast bowlers bowl to the Indian openers and
how they come out of it unscathed.
Ricky Ponting's batting form is not at its best, and during such times, a tour
of India against his nemesis can hardly augur well. Sounds like two evenly placed
teams playing against each other.
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