'Lee Can Ruffle Indian Feathers'

Paceman Brett Lee is back and could be the key man toruffle Indian feathers, but for Australians Rahul Dravid's will be the crunchwicket in the clash between the two teams at Melbourne from Friday.

The pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) willoffer pace and bounce. It would not be fast bounce, more of a spongy bounce. Itis a drop-in wicket at the MCG and it should be a pretty good one both forbatsmen and bowlers, paceman and spin alike. It should be a very good Testwicket.

These days I chuckle when people talk about hard,bouncy Australian wickets. A few of them have certainly lost their zip. Perth isno longer the magnificent, hard bouncy track, SCG has changed -- it is no longerso overtly spin friendly. Brisbane alone has the traditional pace and bounce ofan Australian wicket. When the football session ends, the relay of pitch is donequickly and it does not behave to reputation. Others too have changed incharacter.

But it is not the changed nature of tracks which haveled India to be in a position they find themselves. I think there is a lot ofrelevance about Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath being missed in the Australianattack.

They were two of the best bowlers combination we ever had. When you take themout at their peak, the attack obviously loses sting. Even though I am happy atthe boys who have got into the side, they are not Warne and McGrath. Not yetanyway.

Indian batting has made the most of McGrath and Warne'sabsence. Bounce was the factor which the Australians have relied upon againstIndians in the past and it was a weapon they did not have in the first twoTests.

Now Lee is back and he offers pace, bounce andaggression. He has been back in the last couple of games after recovering fromhis ankle surgery and stomach muscle problem. Australians are hoping he must beholding himself back for a special Test match return in the MCG.

One of the things Lee would need to do is to quicklyget past the openers and bring the Indian middle order in for an early trial. Inthe past, opening was an area where India struggled in Australia. Now AkashChopra and Virender Sehwag have given them a good start in both the Tests.

Chopra is a steady, no-nonsense cricketer who does thejob expected of an orthodox opener -- take the shine off the new ball. Sehwagbats briskly in a style more suited to one-day cricket. As a Test opener, I havea question mark on him. I think he looks a better middle-order batsman.

I guess the Australians would need to attack Chopramore. They have bowled to him wide of the off-stump and the young opener hasbeen very happy to let the balls go.

They need to make him play more, get a fewshort-pitched deliveries aimed at him early and set different fields for him. Hehas shown great concentration and negotiated the new ball well.

The way to go against Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman is to hold the chances theyoffer before they blossom into a major partnershp. Both the batsmen were let offthe hook in the two innings in Adelaide. Laxman gives his chances as he is aflashy, wristy player and could make a mistake outside the off-stump. But yes,the strategy can come at a price for Laxman is such a brilliant stroke-makerwhen he gets a chance to free his arms.

Dravid's nick name is "The Wall" and I guessit is well earned for that is what he looks like. He is the crunch wicket forAustralia as he holds the innings together. The in-form batsman is a majorstumbling block for the Aussies. He does not get impatient and has the abilityto weather a long storm.

Two key players for the two sides, Steve Waugh andSachin Tendulkar, are due for major scores. There have been multiple pressureson Waugh as he has walked out to bat, thinking perhaps it is his last innings,last match at this venue. This could put pressure on a cricketer.

But Steve has been a hard task-master, he puts highexpectations on himself and would love to have a major say in the two remaininggames. He likes pressure, he would quite enjoy being in this position. He knowsif he can win from here, it would be a major feather in his cap. He would enjoythis challenge.

As for Tendulkar, he has always lived in the glare ofthe public and negotiated high expectations throughout his brilliant career. Heis well used to it, as well as to smashing hundreds at a regular rate. He hasnot got going because of the errors he has made along with the decision in thefirst Test which was questionable. But this is not a new situation for him andwe all know how he rides over such moments.

I watched the three-day game between the Indians and Australia 'A' and I mustsay Saurav Ganguly let the game drift in Hobart. Australia 'A' did all therunning and the Indians had a chance to declare the innings at tea on the secondday rather than just do some meaningless batting.

If Ganguly wants the Indian team to be number one inthe world, he has to undertake a certain responsibility for the game globally.It means playing with certain passion even in the lead-up games. Australia woulddo that all the time. He has to take up the responsibility, play positive andthink about making a game of cricket all the time. That is what the game wants.That is what a game should always be - a contest.

The last few days have been stormy for Australiancricket. John Buchanan's famous letter must have stung the Australians into somesoul-searching.

The letter should never have been leaked but now thatit is in public domain, the cricketers must be asking themselves if there ismerit in they giving preference to commercial deals and other external factorsrather than focusing on a game of cricket. If they are honest, the criticismfrom the coach should stir them, more so since they have not been in thisposition before and at stake is their widely recognised dominance.

The last few days have also not been in consonance tothe popular perception that Australian media is very supportive of their team.If you look at the comments on players, Buchanan's leak and columns by cricketers,it doesn't seem so. The amount of flak the Australian team has received isover-reaction. The Indians played well and won and occasionally even a championside can get it wrong. The Indians have laid a challenge to the Australians andit is now up to them to respond.

PTI