A champion's farewell?

Will the Adelaide Test be the last in Australia for India’s stars Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman? The answer could be yes and no. The Age finds out that while Kumble knows this is his last visit to Australia, Tendulkar and Dravid have not written off their chances of another tour.

In the Australian Mike Coward writes that if it is Tendulkar’s last Test in Australia, Adelaide, Don Bradman’s hometown, is a fitting farewell venue for a number of reasons.

Aside from his visits as India's master batsman that began in 1991-92 when he was 18, he was also in Adelaide for treatment for a severe back injury in 1999. To the delight of Rod Marsh and Wayne Phillips, principals at the Cricket Academy, he insisted on living with the students in a single room in the dormitory accommodation of the Del Monte guesthouse in suburban Henley Beach. Tendulkar laughed when reminded he had once asked Phillips for permission to leave the digs to buy fish and chips at nearby Henley square.

Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald says Australia need not fret about their Perth loss, as the return of Matthew Hayden and Brad Hogg will help immensely, while India must retain their focus.

India must surge again. Rows about the one-day side will not help. Nothing in Sourav Ganguly's batting or fielding in Perth suggested that he deserved a place in a 50-over side chosen to play on large, antipodean fields. Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman will also be going home, and not a whimper has been heard from their supporters. India cannot allow anything to distract them from matters in hand.

In the Daily Telegraph, Jon Pierik suggests Ricky Ponting faces one of his toughest challenges in Adelaide.