Who will scale the heights in the India versus Australia Test series? As the cliche goes, only time will tell. Cricketing logic, though, might well point towards India.
India versus Australia is a contest that has its own resonance and relevance. In terms of scale, it is as big as the historical Ashes or the India-Pakistan skirmishes on the cricket field. And while Virat Kohli’s men swept past Bangladesh in the one-off Test in Hyderabad, the expectations, the hype and the arc lights are already on the impending series against Australia that includes four Test matches.
It is understandable as an entire generation of young fans in India have grown up revelling in the afterglow of a Sachin Tendulkar ‘Desert Storm’ in Sharjah in 1998 or the ‘gosh-we-did-it’ adrenaline rush following V. V. S. Laxman’s Houdini Act through his 281 at the Eden Gardens in Calcutta in 2001. The cerebral followers loved Anil Kumble’s withering line — ‘Only one team was playing in the spirit of the game’ — after an emotionally-fraught Sydney Test in 2008. In all these memory-milestones, the storied rival was Australia.
As India and Australia gear up for the first Test, commencing in Pune on February 23, followed by Tests in Bengaluru (March 4-8), Ranchi (March 16-20) and Dharamsala (March 25-29), the verbal jousts, an essential precursor to any modern day tussle, has been a mixed bag. Surprisingly, the Aussies have been a bit reserved, while from the Indian side you could trust Sourav Ganguly to come up with ‘the Australia could be thrashed 4-0’ line.
THE FORMER INDIA CAPTAIN, who infamously made Steve Waugh wait at the toss, and had a good laugh about it later in private, has his reasons, ranging from bravado to smart analysis of hard facts. India truly has been a behemoth in home conditions. Late last year, New Zealand and England, and early this year, Bangladesh have all felt defeat’s cold embrace, aggravated by the menace of Indian spinners and the mayhem unleashed by its batsmen enjoying a stint in their backyard.
This story is from the February 25, 2017 edition of Sportstar.
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This story is from the February 25, 2017 edition of Sportstar.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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