Aus Vs India MCG

Australia have one hand on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Unless the Indians raise their game in the next fortnight, Ricky Ponting and his men will win the series before the teams reach Adelaide. Indians were literally mauled at the MCG as they failed to reach 200 runs in the two innings. It is the fickleness of cricket that makes a man appear impregnable one day and vulnerable the next. None of the heroes of three years ago has been batting fluently. The so called Fab-Four who have collectively scored 30,000 Test Runs and has experiences of over 450 test matches, put a shoddy performance against the bowling attack which has the combined experience of tick under 100 test matches.

Indian batting woes were initiated by the team management's decision to put the best batsman in the team at the top of the order - against his wishes - to accommodate one hit-or-miss player like Yuvraj. Rahul Dravid's record is among the most glittering in the history of the game at One Drop, there are twenty thousand international runs adorning him but the single eluded him for forty balls and thereafter, he only scratched out a total of five. In the second dig, he batted for two hours and managed only 16. This is very unlike Dravid. Sachin played beautifully in the first innings. He tried to glue back the scattered pieces with Sourav before he chopped on to Stuart Clarke's delivery. The left-hander in his 100th Test match, seemed in great touch, timing the ball superbly, to conjure a couple of pretty cover drives, until he missed Hogg's Flipper. VVS and Sourav managed a decent partnership in the second innings before Clarke removed VVS Laxman. Yuvraj fresh from 160 odd Vs Pakistan couple of weeks back against the dibbly-dobbly Pakistan Seamers on a life-less pitch, scored Nought and Five Vs the Aussies Pace Band of Clarke/Johnson and Lee.

Ponting's captaincy has certainly come of age ever since he lost the Ashes 2005. He set smart field placements and never over attacked. Steve Waugh Over attacked last time around and there were lot many boundaries, which eased the pressure on the batsman. Here Ponting literally Suffocated the batsman with brilliant, innovative placements and bowlers complemented the field settings. It was a clinical dissection of an excellent World batting line-up . On paper, it looked unstoppable, capable of quick and heavy scoring. On MCG,though, it looked all at sea.

Hayden's love affair at the MCG continues as he scored his 6th century in seven innings at this very ground. It was a magnificent innings by the Queensland opener, as Zaheer and RP Singh were very hostile early on. Indians did a great job in the field but failed to back it up with the batting.Kumble was brilliant on day 1. He took 5 wickets and was nicely supported by the two left arm quickies. Though Harbajan took three wickets in the second innings during the run of play, he never looked threatening.

In two weeks we play a Test match in Perth on what is bound to be a fresh, bouncy pitch. India will need three seamers in the playing eleven. Today, we cannot find two to pick in the first fifteen. Red-faced officials will still be scurrying around for excuses and explanations, but harsh as it may sound, the simple truth is that the Board of Control for Cricket in India got what it deserved. The team hit a nadir in the MCG and perhaps more to follow.

It might not be easy for Rahul Dravid to recapture the skill and stoicism seen on his last visit, or Tendulkar his majesty, or Sourav Ganguly his measured classicism or VVS Laxman his virtuoso demolitions. None has had much time to adjust to Australian conditions. Still, Dravid might build a partnership with Sachin, or Sourav or with Laxman, a prospect to delight any follower of the game.

Unless Indians regroup, Stuart Clark's prediction will come true !!