Vs

I have been quite anxious to blog something on Cricket for sometime now as i dint post anything after the 20-20 cup final . I guess, this is the best time to do it with the much awaited series against australia ready to kick off . Well , for years India-Pakistan series has been the favorite for any indian cricket lover but time has changed , Cricket Fans like me are no more eager to see inida Pakistan matches as before . The reason is simple , we have been witnessing the confrontation with the rivals far too frequently . The passion which used to be there was missing in the last series against pakistan.The whole series looked sullen and one sided .What the Heck ????, i guess i am deviating away from the actual topic which i want to discuss 😛 .So i was telling that India – Australia games have become much more important for indian fans as we , indians beleive that we are the only team that has the caliber to beat australia and there’s nothing wrong in it .The excitement and the pressure against the aussies has now surpassed the mark that used to be against Pakistan .This was well Visible when australians toured India earlier this year.Each game was heated up and It was really nice to see guys like sreesanth daring the aussie players 😛 .Though india had lost the series there was a stiff competition .

Ever since india won the adelaide test match and tied the seires during the last tour , india has been its toughest competitor .We have given them some hard time to keep up its reputation and they know it .Hopefully , India would be able to give australians run for their money again 😛 . yeah,u heard me ,right!! The word “hopefully” is very much intentional as the inidan team is known for turning things upside down every now and then. After all Enigma is synonymous with INDIAN cricket. Who expected india to reach 2002 world cup finals after the terrible performance with australia in its first match??? Who expected india to Tie the series with australia last time it toured ??? Who expected the embarrassing world cup debacle after losing to minnows like bangladesh earlier this year ??? AND Who expected us to win the 20 -20 world cup ?? 😛 . Now if you consider the present form of indian team i would expect them to atleast draw the test series but who knows :P?? Anyway ,i like to be optimistic and lets hope for the best.

Indian Squad

Anil Kumble (captain), Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Vangipurappu Laxman, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Ishant Sharma, Pankaj Singh, Dinesh Karthik

The squad according to me looks pretty much balanced .Opening looks solid with jaffer in tremendous form and i dont know whether dravid will open with him or not , if he opens then i guess the opening stand can be really good .Middle order is as lethel as it can be .Saurav (in great touch), tendulkar (whose commitment can never be doubted) ,Lakshman (a real pain in the asses of aussies) and Dhoni (with his unusual and aggressive style of play ) make the middle order one the best in the world . And of course yuvraj has the ability to replace anyone of them in case of any unavoidable circumstanses. The search for a natural all rounder has been a real difficulty for the selectors. This never pursuit ended after the introduction of irfan pathan and now after having even a century under his kitty he can really claim as one. Dinesh karthik could be useful in tracks and conditions that australia have but i hardly see any chances for him unless there’s an injury. I though ajit agarkar could have been selected in place for ishan sharma. Ajit could swing the bowl well which is the only hope against the mighty australian line up .But selectors may have some other things in mind.So overall the team looks quite good and had looked never better for taking on the champions of the game.

Australian Squad for the first test

Ricky Ponting (captain), Adam Gilchrist, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hogg, Mike Hussey, Phil Jaques, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait.

Well, i cant say much about the australian team .Their performance speaks much about them. I have always wondered how every newcomer that australia brings becomes a hero for them take the example of Hussey ,Micheal clarke ,and ow recently struat clarke .everyone plays the part in their team.Frankly speaking i dont think the Australian side is that much powerfull ,its just their commitment and confidence that makes them the world champions 🙂 .

Plus Points for INDIA

All the main players are in good knick
Phsycological advantage after winning against pakistan
DHONI And sehwag factor
Players like mcgrath and warne are missing

Plus points for Australia

Home advantage
Ponting is in a splendid form
Symonds and micheal clarke make the middle order almost invincible
Good form as a whole

SCHEDULE FOR THE TEST SERIES

Wed 26, Dec 2007 – Sun 30, Dec 2007 : First Test at Melbourne
Wed 02, Jan 2008 – Sun 06, Jan 2008 : Second Test at Sydney
Wed 16, Jan 2008 – Sun 20, Jan 2008 : Third Test at Perth
Thu 24, Jan 2008 – Mon 28, Jan 2008 : Fourth Test at Adelaide Oval
Fri 01, Feb 2008 : Twenty20 International at Melbourne

SCHEDULE FOR THE ODI TRI SERIES

February 3, 2008 : India vs Australia at Brisbane
February 5, 2008 : India vs Sri Lanka at Brisbane
February 8, 2008 : Australia vs Sri Lanka at Sydney
February 10, 2008 : India vs Australia at Melbourne
February 12, 2008 : India vs Sri Lanka at Canberra
February 15, 2008 : Australia vs Sri Lanka at Perth
February 17, 2008 : India vs Australia at Adelaide
February 19, 2008 : India vs Sri Lanka at Adelaide
February 22, 2008 : Australia vs Sri Lanka at Melbourne
February 24, 2008 : India vs Australia at Sydney
February 26, 2008 : India vs Sri Lanka at Hobart
February 29, 2008 : Australia vs Sri Lanka at Melbourne
March 2, 2008 : 1st final at Sydney
March 4, 2008 : 2nd final at Brisbane
March 7, 2008 : 3rd final at Adelaide

I see an exciting and fascinating tour ahead.Lets hope for the best that India Wins 🙂 . Well ,if you have reached the ending then you deserve a heartly thanks for reading the full post 😀 .

UPDATED :

INDIA lose the first test

Match Result: Australia beat India by 337 runs
Man of the match: Matthew Hayden
Series Status: Australia lead the series 1-0

Australia 343 – all out & 351 – 7 decl, India 196 – all out & 161 – all out