India vs Australia - Series Preview

Unpredictable and Patience are two words that could eventually shape the outcome of the upcoming series.  The unpredictability and the vulnerability make this series such an anticipated contest.  Questions such as will Australian batsman finally fire?  Are Indian bowlers capable of taking 20 wickets in at least 2 tests to ensure first series victory in Australia? Perhaps the most important question is how will the injury toll be at end of the series?  Second word that could define the tactical battle is the patience of Indian batsman and the patience of young Australian bowlers. 

The unpredictable part adds to excitement makes it a hard series to predict the winner but the patience battle could decide the outcome.  Below is the preview of the patience battle that will be shape the series.

Australian Bowling

If the pitches are to go by the history of the past Indian series in Australia then expect batting wickets for the four tests. If that is the case then it comes down to the patience of Australia bowlers.

It should be the plan of Australian young attack to ensure Indian batsmen are made to score of the front foot on the offside. Despite the class of Laxman, Dravid and Tendulkar , there reflexes have demise slightly and they could struggle to play off the front foot on the bouncy wickets.  It is imperative they stick to that line outside the off stump and make the Indian batsman come at them. Fortunately, for Australia they have selected bowlers who can stick to that line and move the ball slightly away. The likes of Hilfenhaus and Pattinson are capable of the executing these plans and if they are patience with their line they will get the rewards. The best advise for the Australian bowlers will be the way the Englishman bowled especially in the 3^rd test at Trent Bridge, they bowled full and were driven a lot but also managed to get wickets.

As an Australian bowler if they manage to get the Indian batsman to score in excess of 50% of the runs off the front foot at the end of the series, they should be confident to be on the winning side.

Indian Batting:

The Indian batting should look to work totally opposite and ensure the young Australian attack bowl at their strengths. This means if the batsman play the patience game with the bat and allow lot of balls to pass though to the keeper, it will make the Australian either dig the ball in short or bowl at the stumps. It doesn’t take to be Einstein to work out any bowl pitching on the line of the stumps can be played through the onside by the Indian batsman, so it is paramount the Indians make sure they make the Australians impatient and change their line of attack.

No doubt Dravid will play a big hand in the patience strategy and if the likes of Tendulkar and Laxman follow this strategy the runs will be on a platter for them. Offcourse each of these modern day greats have batted enough and have the mental game to tire out the Australian bowlers.

As for Sehwag and Gambhir they should be recommended to watch the highlights of the 1^st session of the MCG test, exactly 8 years from now. Most people remember Sehwag brilliant innings of 195 but there was a secret behind it. India was none for 22 after 15 overs and none for 48 after the 25 over mark on Day 1. Furthermore, Sehwag was hit in the head 2 times and so was Aakash Chopra, they left a lot of balls and were still batting at lunch. Gambhir and Sehwag who are best of mates should watch that session over and over again, as that was the success for the day, match and the series.

Similar to Australia bowlers, if the Indian at the end of the series have scored majority of the back foot and the leg side shots have been prominent they will create history by winning the series down under for the first time.

Players

What players will me the most significant on the outcome ?

Australia:

Hussey:  Michael Hussey is the most important batsman for Australia, he has the benefits of facing Ashwin and he is a left hander. Apart from Zaheer Khan none of the Indian bowlers have the plan to trouble the Australian left handers.  Hussey could be a deciding factor in this series.

Siddle: Pattinson brilliant debut has allowed Siddle to go under the radar, but Siddle is in career best form. If Peter Siddle continues to bowl that fuller length even on flatter batting wickets he could well be leading wicket taker this series. Siddle has now added the bowl that moves away from right handers which makes his potent. Secret for Siddle is he must pitch the ball up.

India

Zaheer:  Zaheer is India’s most important player and no wonder he has kept himself in cotton wool. Keep it simple if he plays the first 3 matches and the batsman score sufficient runs then India will win the series.

Dhoni:  Indian captain bats behind a solid top 6 but there will be times in the series he has to make runs or at least stay at the wicket. Dhoni is capable of the tough runs in tough situations and there could well be a series deciding situation in which he will have to play a significant innings.  Similar to world cup there is likely to be one innings and he needs to produce.

There will be contest within contests for the the whole series and it should make it fascinating viewing for viewers around the world.  Six months ago the Indian had a excuse as they were recovering from the enigma of winning the world cup but this time there will be no excuses.

One thing is for sure just like the world cup was a dream for team so is the Australian series. Sachin, Dravid and Laxman will not sleep easily unless Australia has been conquered as a team and surely this is their last chance.  They will not admit it but the World Cup and Australia series was always the marquee for this year, one has been achieved and the journey for the other dream starts tomorrow.

LEAVING ON LENGTH

Back in the 1980’s when the WACA pitch was at its quickest a despondent NSW team was about to play a match against Western Australia, for the visitors the WACA was as alien to them as it is for sub-continent players. To ensure the NSW succeeded on the bouncy track the coach asked his players before the training session to leave as many balls as possible. The whole point of exercise was the coach wanted the batsman to leave the ball on length.  This meant lot of the balls on good length, were allowed to pass through to the keeper.  This radical exercise ensured the batsman had the correct mindset and were content on leaving the ball so they didn’t get caught behind the wicket.

Before the start of the West Indies tour MS Dhoni might have claimed “the Australia tour is too far ahead” but there is a key element of batting technique some of his young batsman need to work on at least in the nets before the ship sets sail for Australia.

Former and the current batsman have built their success by mastering the art of leaving the ball. It is technique that is not taught and rightly so as it takes each individual own judgment to develop the skill. Players such as Dravid and Gavaskar were perfect examples on which ball to leave outside the off stump. Aakash Chopra, the former Indian batsman has quoted “for a batsman there is equal satisfaction in leaving a good ball and driving one through the covers”.  Knowing which ball to leave is decision based on two main aspects line and length.

Leaving on line is skill that is accomplished a lot easier by Indian batsman. The likes of Virat Kholi, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma and Raina are able to adjust their shots if they misjudge the line of a delievery on Indian conditions, this is because there is lack of pace off the wicket. This also works to their advantage as the players have learned to play the ball late of the wicket and use their hands to guide the ball. This technique is exposed on faster pitches such as Australia, South Africa and England. The English tour was a perfect example where lot of the youngsters in the one-dayers or tests were troubled and caught behind the wicket.  

In England it was the movement and bounce that troubled the batsman. Australian pitches wouldn’t have same amount of movement as England but will definitely have more bounce. This is where the art of leaving on length becomes vital to learn.

Duncan Fletcher should already been asking the Rohit Sharma and Kholi’s to watch tapes of Mark Taylor batting at the WACA or Matthew Hayden at the GABBA. The number of times both Taylor and Hayden  leave the ball that passes over off-stumps is a feature of their batting. The quicker the players realize a ball pitching 7m to 8m to the stumps will pass over the stump the easier batting will get in Australia. Even deliveries that pitch on the 7m to 8m that jag back sharply should be left comfortably on length.

Due to the true bounce of the Australian wickets the art of leaving on length is often easier to put into practice. The bounce is consistent and the bounce can be trusted by the batsman unlike other conditions.  The guide down to third man is such an effective scoring area on the slow low wickets but on quicker wickets that shot needs to be replaced by a leave outside off stump or the batsman will risk getting caught behind the wicket.  It is a principle that needs to be set into the youngsters mind before then land in Australia.

Sachin Tendulkar has always had his unique methods as part of training before a foreign tour, it may be worthwhile the likes of Kholi, Rahane, Rohit and Gambhir practice on concrete pitches and get practice on leaving the ball rather than following it with their hands. It is skill that needs to be prepared in the mind.

If a state team in the 80’s was able to take up such an approach there is no reason to believe why an international team cannot have a similar approach. If the younger players can land in Australia and have the mindset of “leave the ball” that is not going to hit the stumps and cut out the fancy dabs down to third man or behind point they similar to NSW team would have won half the battle at least in their mind.