'India Are No Longer Poor Travellers'

The Indian cricketers have lately acquired that hard edge which they couldnot summon on so many previous foreign tours. They have improved in all areasand no longer should somebody question why they have been such poor travellerson the road. You could sense it from their demeanour -- hard-nosed, terrier-likeapproach -- and a team which has not taken a backward step in the series.

Australia have been world champions but everytime you see this Indian team inthe park, you feel they can beat Australia. It is not a small credit and reflectswell on the respect the Indians enjoy.

If the weather is kind, and that is a big if because a rain depression hasset in Queensland, India and Australia should have a cracker of a game at theGabba on Sunday. You could be sure the outfield would have been trimmed and ballwould race along the boundary from the heavy artillery which both the sidescarry.

It is a good deck and there would be bounce but the one-dayers in Gabbausually produce high scores. Not that you expect anything less from batsmen oftwo sides who have been in magnificent form all summer. A side would be deemedto have done well if they could stop the other from crossing 250 runs.

Australia still set the benchmark in world cricket and for anyone else to belooked up in better esteem is a great tribute to Ganguly and his men. They areno longer dependent on Sachin Tendulkar for runs. Everyone else is putting uphis hand and performing.

Saurav Ganguly has been a revelation. He was the fall guy of internationalcricket, who sometimes gave the impression in batting and fielding of a kid bornwith a silver spoon. He looked to have a soft underbelly. But he has been gutsyand feisty on this tour and has shown tremendous character. I have a feelingcaptaincy has brought out the tiger in him. With responsibility his characterhas toughened and now he gives nothing away.

The Zimbabweans have been under a weather in this series and it is developinginto a two-headed competition. The two heavyweights have not met since thatchilly night at MCG and the African team has struggled to retain the attentionof a cricketing nation which still carries the hangover of an exceptional Testseries.

At the start of the summer, a grateful Matthew Hayden had knocked off the toptotal in Test cricket and Adam Gilchrist nearly did the same to the one-dayrecord in Hobart. Indeed, the Zimbabweans are losing the plot.

Still I believe Zimbabwe must be taken seriously at all times. They candeliver a knock-out punch and dent a few egos in the next two weeks. It is notbeyond them even though the thoughts of a place in the finals are receding everyday.

They are handicapped because they only have a pool of 30-odd cricketers tochoose from and without a strong bench, the others do not have a competition intheir compound. They are still needed in international cricket and any thoughtson their credentials must be dropped at the nearest garbage.

V.V.S. Laxman should bat higher in the order. In certain games of academicinterest, he should even be asked to open. He still has to sort out the subtledifference between Tests and one-dayers but he can work out his game plan.Sometimes, a good Test player tries too hard in the shorter form of the game. Hehas talent in abundance and only needs to realise there is only a slightdifference between the two forms of cricket.

Once he starts working the ball around in the field, learn to pick hissingles, he would be fine.

I have a soft spot for Irfan Pathan who has been refreshing and shown a greatheart in the few matches he has played. Ajit Agarkar has shown if the ball isput in right areas, a bowler could reap rich rewards. He has caused grief toopposing batsmen. It is not everyday a bowler takes six Australian wickets in aone-day game. Anil Kumble is in good form and the others must forge importantlinks with these key bowlers.

The Indians have a packed itinerary and four matches scheduled in a space ofa week. There should be no complaints here for that is the way modernitineraries are planned these days. Cricketers must learn to come to grips withit mentally. It is no different from million of others who get up everyday andreport for job at 9 am, every working day of the year. Certain things do go withthe job.

PTI