First test match preview

Australia announced its eleven which will take the field on 22nd at Chennai's MA Chidambram Stadium. India, generally, announces the final eleven at the time of toss.
Here's a preview of how both sides could match up.

Australia David Warner Ed Cowan Phillip Hughes Shane Watson, Michael Clarke (capt) Matthew Wade (wk) Moises Henriques Peter Siddle Mitchell Starc James Pattinson Nathan Lyon.

India (likely) V Sehwag M Vijay C Pujara S Tendulkar V Kohli MS Dhoni (c &wk) R Jadeja R Ashwin B Kumar I Sharma P Ojha Likely to sit out: Dhawan, Dinda, Harbhajan, Rahane

With four pacers in Siddle, Starc, Pattinson and Henriques, Watson's services won't be missed much. Lyon fits in as only specialist spinner. It would be interesting to see if a spinner friendly track can make this strategy backfire.

India, on the other hand, might pick Vijay over Dhawan, given the fact he was in the England squad . Jadeja is likely to retain his no.7 position, that makes the batting look more susceptible. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar will likely make a debut, making Dinda warm the bench. Harbhajan might not fit in the squad as third spinner


I would like to make the batting stronger against such a good Aussie pace attack by playing Rahane, and backing the four bowlers. Jadeja and Dhoni aren't the best suited test batters at no.6 and no.7. That means, 2 or 3 early wickets will open the floodgates for Australia. India have a good wagging tail with Ashwin and Bhuvaneshwar though. Australia might miss Johnson at No.8.

I would have played Johnson in place of Henriques and Played an extra spinner in place of Pattinson. The Aussie batting still has the grit to score big runs. The Hussey-Ponting retirements, I feel, won't affect the batting order that much.

The Ojha-Ashwin pair have a huge job in hand, as much can't be expected from mercurial Ishant and newbie Bhuvaneshwar. If Indian spinners don't find the touch, India might struggle to take crucial wickets. TO add to it, Yuvraj's left arm spin services will be surely missed.

All in all, Australia seem t have the advantage with fiery pace attack and good in-form batting order. The form and pitch might decide the turn of the series. India will have to raise its game to beat Aussies in the first Test.  Sachin Tendulkar, meanwhile, will be the centre of attention after his recent ODI retirement.

Know the pace battery

Mostly in cricket, people judge a team by the reputations of its players. But sometimes, lesser known names are equally dangerous. The new Aussie pace battery might be a less formidable attack than the McGrath-Gillespie-Lee attack, but it has no less acuity. In modern context, this new attack can be considered as second-best after the South African deadly troika of Steyn, Morkel and Philander. But when it comes to variety, South Africans fall short of bench strength. This is where the strength of this Australian pace bowling lies: ‘variety’ and strong bench strength. In this article, I analyze some of the names that compose this dangerous Australian attack!

Mitchell Johnson

Tests: 205 wickets at an average of 30

ODIs: 188 wickets at an average of 25

Mitchell Johnson is a dangerous left-arm fast bowler, when in form. His USP is the deadly late in-swing that comes snaking into the right hander. When he is in full flow,  it is a great sight to watch the batsman perplexed against the background of shattered stumps. Besides those swinging beauties, he can bowl some real good Yorkers and bouncers to stun any settled batsman. That makes him a dangerous shorter-version bowler. His mediocre test average shows the fact that consistency has been a distant cousin for Johnson. On bad days, like some swing bowlers, he sprays one too many balls around.

Peter Siddle

Tests: 141 wickets at an average of 28

ODIs: 188 wickets at an average of 38

‘Bowl in the right spot, draw batsman to a spot where he reaches for it and nicks it to the slips cordon.’ That’s Peter Siddle for you. He can bowl immaculate lines on flat tracks and can swing the cherry a lot where the conditions favour. He’s surely a viewer’s delight with his charged run-up and energetic appeals. His ODI career isn’t much to boast of, with a fat average of 38. Injuries have affected Siddle’s roller-coaster career, but Siddle supporters would like to believe that his best is yet to come.

For me, he ranks no.2 in this Aussie pace line-up.

Pat Cummins

Tests: 7 wickets at 16.7 average

ODIs: 7 wickets at 30.5 average

One sensational debut match and the name hogged limelight. Pat Cummins, is a tall promising bowler in the mould of Morne Morkel, with a good high-arm action, who made the ball talk against the mighty South Africans. Injury has put him out of action since then and the world awaits to see the tall fast man to demolish batting line-ups around the world.

Ben Hilfenhaus

Tests: 99 wickets at 28 average

ODIs: 29 wickets at 37 average

(To be updated) 

Ben HilfenhausJames Pattinson

Clint Mckay

Ryan Harris

Jackson Bird

Doug Bollinger

The Australian squad analysis

The inspired team. (Image: Cricinfo)

On Thursday, when Australia announced the squad that’ll come to the Indian shores to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, majority number of opinions from ‘experts’ dismissed the line-up as a weak and ‘inexperienced’ squad. Yes, it might not have the heavyweights like Hayden, Langer, Warne, McGrath, and Ponting, but it has players who have been performing well and are in good form. The names aren’t intimidating, but don’t judge a book by its cover. Those who have followed the growth of Australian team under Clarke, will know the ground reality.

Australia, unlike India, are a team that are rebuilding in the right direction. They haven’t been blown away by retirements. A good selection policy and inspiring leadership has brought hope in the Australian camp. India, on the other hand, has juggled with players and made some real illogical selections. To add to it, the captain hasn’t led from the front in the longer format. The Aussie batting might be ‘inexperienced’, but it is mighty. The names aren’t big, but they have proven records and recent good performances to brag about. Warner, Cowan, Hughes, Watson, Wade and Khwaja, led by the dangerously in-form Michael Clarke, form a dangerous combination of players who can play out sessions and can also demolish economy rates. Most of these players can score big hundreds, clobber boundaries and steal quick runs. Also consider the weak Indian bowling. We don’t have even one bowler who’s a permanent fixture in the side! Ojha, on the basis of sheer form, stands out. If the English batsmen, known most likely to collapse on spinning tracks, can play out Indian bowling, then don’t underestimate this talented line-up from Down Under. Coming to Indian batting, a weak opening pair, and an ever-void lower middle order slot are some glaring shortcomings. Only Pujara and Kohli, to some extent, provide a glimmer of hope.

At least the batting can be compared between these two countries, but when it comes to bowling, India’s wardrobe is bare. Australia, meanwhile, continues to crop up new world class pace-bowlers. Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle, and Jackson Bird. Where does the Indian retort stand in comparison? They can put together only a set of talented medium pacers, who rely on swing to do the trick. Only when it comes to spin department, India might be marginally better placed with with two spinners who have good track record at home. Australia has tried to cover ground here, by bringing four spinners for the long tour. Nathan Lyon has improved a lot and can spin webs around Indian batting. If Steven O’ Keefe would have come in place of Xoherty, it would have been a better  mix of spinners for the Aussies.

The fielding department is also Australia’s forte. India can be guilty of hiding some slow movers in the field; the Australians on the other hand, have agile bodies all around the park. Some stunning catches can turn the course of match, so Australians have a huge edge when it boils down to checking runs, taking catches and affecting run-outs.

In a nutshell, the Indians fans and media should write off this squad at their own risk, because this team can give India a good run for their money and can even pull off a series win. Against the popular comparison of squads on paper, if we do a comparative form analysis, Australia edges out India as favourites. India need much inspiration to be tigers at home again!

'On a good Length' feels Australia starts as just favourites