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Fresh from blasting the Pakistan attack to all corners, Sourav Ganguly has a stiffer task at hand, and that too in his 100th Test
© AFP
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Take a walk in Melbourne's Central Business District and the theme is
simple: big. There's the impressive Rod Laver Arena, the imposing Crown
Casino, rows of skyscrapers, and the enormous MCG. Nobody needs any
directions for the G, as it's referred to here, just get near the vicinity
and look for the massive light towers. G is for gigantic.
The last few years have seen India evolve into a fine Test side but this
will be their biggest test of all. A maiden Test win in South Africa was
bookended by historic series wins in West Indies and England but they will
need to pull rabbits, parrots and kangaroos out of the same hat to have a
chance here. They've come with a weakened pace attack and a batting line-up
four years older than 2003. The nature of the challenge ahead of them?
Massive.
Ricky Ponting didn't want to reveal the team composition but suggested a
return to Test cricket for Brad Hogg, the chinaman bowler whose last Test
was more than four years ago. He will back up Stuart Clark, a mean seam
bowler in the Glenn McGrath mould, and left-armer Mitchell Johnson, who has
tasted success against India in the one-day format. The pacey Shaun Tait may
miss out but all could change if the pitch is damp on the first
morning.
"He is a guy that can break a game open in a matter of couple of
overs," Ponting said of Tait. "What we lost in McGrath and Warne we gained
in a few other guys doing different roles."
India are likely to go in with a similar combination: three seamers
complementing Anil Kumble, though there could be a toss-up between Ishant Sharma and offspinner Harbhajan Singh. Ponting didn't think Ishant would play but
a five-wicket haul in the recent Bangalore Test against Pakistan could see
him win a spot as the third seamer. Zaheer Khan and RP Singh, architects of
the Indian win in England, will be expected to take the new ball. It has been confirmed, meanwhile, that Rahul Dravid will open the batting along with Wasim Jaffer, with Yuvraj Singh
bolstering the line-up at No.6.
Tony Ware, the head groundsman, thinks the pitch will be flat but feels
bowling first may be the way to go. Ponting didn't rule out the possibility.
"Through this year, in domestic cricket, the pitch has been very flat. But
this has got more moisture in it than any of the first days of other games.
So, it's going to be a tricky decision. It's probably going to be
bowler-friendly from the looks of it. It's going to be pretty slow and seam
around."
What has he usually preferred at this ground? "I don't win that
many tosses so I can't tell."
India's best batsman on current form is expected to walk in at
No.5. It will be Sourav Ganguly's 100th Test. As a captain he's thrived
against Australia but his batting heroics are largely confined to his sublime
hundred in Brisbane last time around. Ponting offered a note of caution:
"I've been lucky to play a hundred Test matches. I was
quite nervous going in, and I put a bit more pressure on myself going in.
I'm sure Sourav will be feeling a bit anxious and a bit nervous as well."
Ganguly won't mind being nervous initially if he achieved what Ponting
managed: a unique feat of scoring a hundred in each innings of his
100thTest. The scale of celebrations that will follow that feat? Big,
really big.
Teams (likely)
Australia - 1 Phil Jaques, 2 Matthew Hayden, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Mike Hussey, 5 Michael Clarke, 6 Andrew Symonds, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Brett Lee, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Stuart Clark, 11 Brad Hogg
India - 1 Wasim Jaffer, 2 Rahul Dravid, 3 VVS Laxman, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Sourav Ganguly, 6 Yuvraj Singh, 7 MS Dhoni (wk), 8 Anil Kumble (capt), 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 RP Singh, 11 Ishant Sharma/Harbhajan Singh
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is an assistant editor at Cricinfo