Online Scoreboard : Live ScoreBoard India v Australia , 1st Test Match , Bangalore, Live telecast : India has the edge
October 7, 2008
ON OCTOBER 9, the war will begin between the two leaders of cricket – India and Australia in Bangalore.
Aussies are going to take on Indians with four experienced players – Ricky Ponting (Captain), Matthew Hayden (veteran opener), Michael Clarke and Simon Katich (middle-order batsmen). At least, 12 in the 15-man Aussie-squad have a combined tally of only 130 Tests between them.
Ponting, Hayden, Clarke and Katich – only these four are considered to have experience in playing Test on Indian pitches. There are no such impressive spinners in the new Australian squad, who can exploit wickets in a slow pitch.
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, the 35-year-old indomitable batting machine needs 77 more runs to become the highest scorer in Test cricket. Apart from him, there are three other veteran batting heroes – Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. The Australian team can even be undone by the Najafgarh storm, Virender Sehwag, single-handedly, who is the lone triple-centurion in Tests. Both Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir can blunt the Aussie pacers – Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson and rookie Peter Siddle.
The Australian skipper’s record in the Indian soil is not at all remarkable in the Test matches. Ponting has a poor average of 12.28 in eight previous Tests on Indian soil, in contrast to his career average of 58.37. Since 1996, in 14 innings, Ponting has lost his wicket 13 times to Indian spinners.
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