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Paying the price for a rushed schedule Down Under


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It is doubtful whether proper thinking or planning ever takes place before the Board of Control for Cricket in India commits itself to sending the Indian team on foreign tours, particularly to Australia and South Africa. If the ongoing jaunt Down Under is any indication, the answer is certainly not in the affirmative. A pity! One wonders why the BCCI agreed to a rushed schedule, in the first place, with only one practice match before Team India had to take on mighty Australia in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. The result, a humiliating defeat for the visitors, did not come as a surprise to those aware of India's past performances Down Under and its itineraries. Surely, you did not expect Anil Kumble's [Images] squad to crush the Kangaroos straightaway, especially when all they had was a solitary, washed-out match against Victoria to attune to the usually fast and bouncy Australian wickets and different weather and 'other' conditions. Of course, even the best of teams find it difficult to chase a 400-plus fourth innings target regardless of the status of the opposition and the quality of bowling. What was embarrassing, even pathetic, was the fact that not a single Indian gave glimpses of offering even a token resistance.Maybe, just maybe, the margin of defeat, if not the actual result, would probably have been slightly different had the Indians had more than just one first-class match to acclimatise themselves before the start of the serious business of Test cricket. As if that were not enough, the rain disrupted the proceedings, leaving many Indian players without adequate match practice. It may be unfair to put the blame squarely on the Indian team for the disaster in Melbourne. Much of the blame for the inadequate pre-Test programme ought to be apportioned to the BCCI, which has been paying such scant respect to Test cricket for the last two decades or so. In comparison, the itinerary for the India's 2003-04 tour was better. There were two first-class matches, against Victoria and Queensland Academy of Sport, before India and Australia met in Brisbane for the first Test. Though the matches ended in draws, most of the Indian players had a good dose of match practice, which mirrored in their performances in the subsequent Test series. They drew the first Test but humiliated the Aussies in the second in Adelaide, thanks to the tours de force of Rahul Dravid [Images], VVS Laxman and Ajit Agarkar [Images]. The hosts bounced back in the third Test in Melbourne and squared the rubber. But for Steve Waugh playing a captain's innings and rescuing Australia in the nick of time in the fourth and final Test in Sydney, India could well have won the series. However, more than the Australian skipper, it was the wretched wicketkeeping of young Parthiv Patel almost throughout the tour that probably robbed the Indians of a golden chance of winning their maiden Test series Down Under. On the ill-fated 1999-00 tour, when Sachin Tendulkar [Images] led the side, India played three matches, including two first-class fixtures, before the commencement of the three-Test series. Queensland handed a10-wicket defeat to the Indians in the very first match. Laxman (113 and 73) was the sole consolation for the visitors. Sourav Ganguly [Images] (38 and 81) was the top scorer in both the innings in what was a low-scoring second match against New South Wales (NSW) in Sydney, which India won by 93 runs. Anil Kumble (4 for 50 and 4 for 38) was the wrecker-in-chief on a pitch that suited his bowling. But the Prime Minister's XI beat India by 164 runs in the third game, a limited-overs match, before the start of the Test series. The Indians never recovered from the shock and, as predicted by the then BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele, a la Cassandra, lost the rubber 3-0. But then a not-so-strong Indian side, in complete disarray because of bizarre selection, was up against Steve Waugh's all-conquering Australia. There were three one-dayers and a first-class match before the five Tests on the 1991-92 tour. The itinerary also included the triangular one-day series featuring the host Australia, India and the West Indies [Images]; and also the fifth World Cup in the Antipodes. It was, of course, a disastrous tour for Team India under Mohammad Azharudin. We lost the opening match to the Australian Cricket Board Chairman's XI by 29 runs at Lilac Hill Park. But this was nothing compared to what happened in the next match against Western Australia at Perth. Invited to bat first, the Indians were bowled out for 64 in 31.5 overs against a fiery pace attack spearheaded by Bruce Reid and Terry Alderman. The hosts won the match by 9 wickets in just 13 overs. Read More.....

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