Onus on Indian batsmen to deliver Jaipur, October 15 Much was said and reported about this visiting Australian team before the commencement of the ODI series. The odds were heavily stacked against them with most cricket pundits not even giving them an iota of a chance to win the ODI series. India were the firm favourites. A few optimists even predicted a 7-0 whitewash! Well, all those predictions have been thrown out of the window and the odds have been evened ( pun unintended! ) after the visitors hammered India in the first ODI in Pune, a thrashing the writer of this preview was witnessed to in person at the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium on Sunday. The popular contest was always going to be between the Australian pace battery and the famed Indian batting line-up and the former have gained the early advantage. But the battle which may actually decide the winner of this series might well be fought between the Australian batsmen and the Indian bowlers - the latter so far firing way below par! Australia: The Australian batsmen have given an account of their ability in both the one-off T20I as well as the first ODI having set up scores of above 200 and 300 respectively. They have taken the attack to the Indian bowlers and dominated them with ease. There has been a method to their aggression. Calculated risks have been taken and have come off. Aaron Finch has been a revelation at the top of the order and has given Australia the necessary impetus. Skipper, George Bailey, with his match-winning 85 off just 82 deliveries in Pune has yet again proven his critics wrong and done his limited overs credentials no harm! Glenn Maxwell is a useful cog in the Australian batting armoury and has already played two cameos coming down the order. Mitchell Johnson roughed up the Indian openers in the first ODI with some hostile fast bowling on instructions from his skipper Bailey. He was again introduced into the attack and pepped up the in- form Yuvraj with some Chin- Music before eventually getting the better of the flamboyant Indian southpaw. He was well supported by Clint McKay who bowled a steady line and length and maintained a tight leash on the Indian batsmen. The same can be expected from the duo in Jaipur. Shane Watson hasnt yet blossomed with the bat but has made up for his lack of runs by picking up crucial wickets and not conceding many. James Faulkner has been guilty of going for plenty but has chipped in with important breakthroughs at critical junctures in the match. Both, Watson and Faulkner have the added advantage of having played at the Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur representing Rajasthan n the recently concluded T20 Cricket League. India: India would need a good start from their opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. Both have looked in good touch but have not been able to convert the starts into meaningful contributions. Virat Kohli was not at his usual dominant-self in Pune and found it difficult to up the ante against a quality pace attack. The onus would again be on the middle order - the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina and M S Dhoni will have to provide the flourish lower down the order. Ravindra Jadeja has impressed with the ball but his batting of late remains a worry. The Indian pace bowling unit will give Dhoni a sleepless night or two and grey his hair faster than the speed of light! Ishant Sharma has been all over the place and was taken to the cleaners by the Australian batsmen. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been relatively successful in restricting the opposition batsmen but has lacked penetration. The spinners have done a better job comparatively with Jadeja being the standout. R Ashwin has looked a patch of the bowler he was and needs to concentrate more with the ball rather than the bat in hand! Captaincy: George Bailey outsmarted MS Dhoni in Pune with some aggressive and intuitive captaincy. He instructed Johnson to go all out up front and rough up the Indian openers and was on the spot with bowling-changes and his innovative field placings. His counterpart, Dhoni would need to take a leaf out of his book for his decision to bat Raina at number four in Pune came under heavy criticism. Pitch: The wicket at the Sawai Man Singh stadium has assisted the fast bowlers in the recently concluded T20 Cricket League. The pitch for the second ODI is expected to be hard with a tinge of grass. The seamers will get some purchase but at the same time a lot of runs are expected as the ball will come onto the bat. The Australian wicketkeeper- batsman, Brad Haddin reckons it would be a high-scoring match and the conditions will also suit his bowlers. The conditions here are good for another high scoring game. The wicket is full of runs. Shane Watson and James Faulkner have played a lot of games recently and they were telling that it was a good wicket to bat on. There is grass and I hope our bowlers will love bowling on it, stated Haddin. Weather: A bright and sunny day is expected in Jaipur on Wednesday. The maximum temperature would be around 34 degrees celsius. Light winds will blow across the stadium. Quotes: He had a very good knock in the circumstances at Pune and the way he controlled the game in middle overs after losing few wickets cheaply was fantastic. He is a cool and relaxed captain and a good student of game: Brad Haddin feels Australia skipper George Bailey is a good student of game. Yes, death bowling is an area where we need to improve. Ours is a new team and experience comes by playing matches. Bowling at the death requires certain amount of skill which we develop over a period of time: Virat Kohli on Indias bowling woes. Trivia: India and Australia have locked horns only once in Jaipur on the latters tour in 1986. The Allan Border led Australian side put up a challenging 250/3 off their allotted 47 overs. Geoff Marsh and David Boon both hit centuries and were involved in a double century opening stand. However a magnificent ton from Kris Srikkanth coupled with an aggressive fifty from Raman Lamba saw India home by 7 wickets with 6 overs to spare.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 00:20:26 +0000
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