AUSTRALIA WILL not be able to improve on the series' scoreline if their batting continues to fail
Australiau00a0will not be able to improve on the series' scoreline if their batting continues to fail
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Australia cannot win the series but still has a lot at stake in the second Test which kicks off in Bangalore today.
Michael Clarke needs to score big in Bangalore where he made his Test
debut in 2004. pic/AFP
Ricky Ponting and company have lost two Tests on the trot and will want to break the sequence before it becomes a habit. Nor can the next five days be considered in isolation. Australia's main aim is to square the series, but the Ashes are not far away.
Daunting task
Saving the series is itself a daunting task because the local batting order counts amongst the best the game has known. The last few days have told the tale. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag won awards and VVS Laxman played one of the finest last-day innings the game has known. Any order that can put a player of his calibre at fourth wicket down can be considere formidable.
Still, taking wickets had not been Australia's primary problem. The pace attack is strong, and pace is the best option against these opponents.
Not that they cannot play fast bowlers, just that they are even better against the slow stuff.u00a0 Australia has a glut of speedsters and a dearth of spinners.
But the batting is the headache. Australia has done remarkably well over the last few years. Only Ponting remains from its great period, yet the side has remained hard to beat. That bears testimony to the strength of the system. However, change is not far away. If the current mob does not perform forthwith the selectors may act. In some cases, they need to score runs in this Test. Not that they want to unsettle a team before an Ashes series.u00a0
Accordingly, it's up to the incumbents to ease the pressure with a strong showing. Clearly Marcus North and Mike Hussey are on guard. North has a high backlift and takes a long stride which does not give him much margin for error.
Inconsistency is almost inevitable. Is it too late to change? Newspapers are full of pensioners taking degrees. It's never too late.
Hussey not ready
Hussey's preparation for the Mohali Test was affected by his obligation to play T20 cricket in Africa in the build-up. Apparently, Cricket Australia forced him to fulfil his commitment.
If so, the Australians were let down by their own Board. Ponting is entitled to rage against this undermining of his position.
Australia can take encouragement from the injuries suffered by their opponents. Although out of sorts, Gautam Gambhir is a capable batsman and will be missed. Ishant Sharma's measure can be taken from the telling contributions he made to his team's victory in Mohali.
Old hands, the key
Although the local selectors have brought teenagers into the squad, older hands are expected to play.
Still, the invitation issued to the novices confirms that the local think-tank is planning ahead. Upheavals are not far away here either.
Ponting must hope for a pitch that suits his purposes. Malingering rain has been falling on the city. Accordingly, the deck has spent more time under canvas than a boy scout.
Not that anything can be confidently predicted about pitches but it does seem possible that it might assist the seamers.
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