Too tough to call

Cricinfo will probably sensor this (bitter truth) but - Given the track record of ICC's umpires in matches between India & Australia - human errors assisting Australia every time India have them down, I am not sure if these discussions about which Indian / Australian Cricketer will have an impact on the result makes any sense. FACTS - the last 2 series between these 2 sides have been decided as follows: Oz Bt Ind in India (2-1), Bowden gave 2 Australians incorrectly notout & 2 Indians Incorrectly out at Bangalore. Oz had an unfair 4 wicket advantage. Oz Bt Ind in Australia (2-1), Sydney events are well known all over the world. In both the series, if alleged "Human Error" from umpires was taken out of the equation, Australia would have lost. We are yet to see BCCI fight for India. If ICC's paid staff are found abusing their on-field authority against Indians, a PIL against BCCI to prevent them from abusing INDIA in their label is on the cards.

This series is already tailor-made because of the media's & the interview's that are given by almost all players of both side. Only few left who are not spoken. OZ's heavily depend on Hayden, Clarke & pointing since they are the person who has more exp against india in india. Even if hayden is not scoring his ambition will be there to be at the middle to guide his inexperienced fellaw's. Has well as pointing looks to spent time at the middle, since he is a natural shotmaker who score run in no time. So india's first choice is to remove these men, for that they will opt for harbajan against pointing & ishant or kumble for hayden India's startergy will heavily depend on scoring runs rather than squeezing the oz by wickets. Key players of this series are shewag, gambir, dhoni, dravid, harbajan & ishant. if kumble is back to form sure we are the champions. As of aus its hayden, hussey, pointing, Clarke, lee & johnson along with new spinners Any way we all have a good 45 days of cricket.

As usual Ian Chappel is very correct in his assertions. But one surprising thing in this whole article is he never mentioned Virendra Sewag once! He is going tobe the very very danger man for the Aussies. Since their bowling attack centrally depended upon Brett Lee. Chappel once said, if Sewag is there, Brett Lee can be made to err in his line and length. He plundered South African pace attack in Chennai into pieces on his way to a glorious triple hundred. If that kind of attack is going to happen Brett Lee and company they cannot gatherup so quickly. So watch out for Viru. Old fashioned Constricting Fielding set up doesn't yield anything, As chappel rightly said, if indian batsmen foolishly cooperate to such methods only that will yield.

Yes, this series will be tough to call one way or other. I expect the Aussies wuld rely on their openers + ponting, Clark and Hussey in their batting. Indians will rely upon their openers + Dravid, Tendulkar, Raina, Laxman and Dhoni as their batting stars. In bowling the Aussies will bank heavily on Lee, Clarke, Johnson while Indians will bank on Khan, Sharma, Harbhajan and Kumble. Depending upon the form of these players, each team can count their chances. Fielding and catching will be a key factor because the teams are so evenly matched. India could be better off in playing only 2 of the Fab. 4 because it weakens them on the field. Raina, Kaif and R.Sharma are brilliant fielders and they all deserve a chance to strengthen the fielding.Kumble's form is important factor in justifying his selection. He always did well at Delhi. Australians are heavily dependent on success of their pace attack led by Lee. India at home has a slight advantage and if they field well,should win the series.

One bad series (against Sri Lanka) and everyone is rushing to write off our 'famed middle order'. When Australia lost the 2005 Ashes in England, was there such a concerted cry for a 'fading Aussie attack' to quit? Why is it invariably the 'ageing Indians' who are always under the scanner ? Has anyone stopped to think that Australia's Test Team is more than a Dad's Army - Hayden, Hussey, Stuart Clark, not to mention 36-year-old McGain. Why don't we back our Fab Four to deliver yet again. They must be amused reading the obituaries. When they are ready to quit the cricket field, they will let us know ! Why is every cricket observer so quick to jump the gun and pull the trigger ? Haven't they been around long enough to know that the 'Time to Quit' predictions only backfire on the soothsayers !

This is the first time that India will win against this Australian side quite comfortably. I think it will be 2-1 win against Australia. Yes, we have some problem in both batting and bowling. I am confident that Zaheer and Ishant will hold the key for this Test series. If they do their job by taking 2-3 wickets in first 20 overs, then they will control Australia with a low score. I don't think Sachin will fail once again, Dravid knows that this series decides his future. I think we failed in Sri Lanka because we missed Dhoni very much in keeping and batting at no.6. he holds the key in this series. Don't worry man we have Sehwag in our side who can damage Australians at least one time in this series. He needs to score constantly well in this series. Toss also holds the key in india. Win toss and bat first will be the mantra for success in India.

"in two series it has worked brilliantly for Hayden". Dear Ian Hayden averaged 30.5 with one fifty in 8 innings in Australia's 2004/05 victory in India. I suppose he did perform brilliantly in that series.

History is the proof that if in a series in India, the experienced players of the tourist team fail to deliver, an unlikely hero would emerge out of nowhere. So, it indeed will be a grave mistake to underestimate the current australian team. India, on the other hand have their own concerns to fight with. In Batting, Sehwag is the key. If he manages to continue to play the way he only can, then others can always bat around and after him to post a good total. In the Bowling department, the quickies hold the key. There is no magic left in Bhajji and Kumble too anymore, unless we get a minefield as in Kanpur against the SA in the series-levelling win last season. Also, the way Kumble handles his bowlers would be interesting to see. Opening spells from Ishant and Zaheer are crucial. Sachin should be sparingly used as a bowler too. Finally it would be interesting to see the fate of Ganguly and if Rohit/Badrinath/Raina would get a look in. Or an unlikely event:Yuvraj or Pathan get selected.

India's performance in this series relies on Kumble's flexibility. In the last series in Lanka Kumble did not change his batting line-up inspite of the middle order failing in all innings. I thought he got his priorities wrong when he went on to protect the seniors rather than looking at means to win matches. He could have let Rohit Sharma to play in one of the matches but i think he could not decide whom to drop as the entire middle order was failing pathetically. But, he needs to be bold this time around even if though the possibility of these youngster failing with the bat is high still they will lift the team in the field and support the bowlers better with sharp fielding. But, the main problem would be if Kumble himself struggles, if that happens then India is doomed to lose unless somebody makes up for his failure with extraordinary cricket

I think India should win this series. Sachin always gets back into good form whenever he plays one of India's rival teams. I don't any of the seniors whil retire after this especially Sachin Tendulkar. I think the key players for India's victory are definitely Sachin, Sehwag, Kumble, Ishant Sharma, Dravid, Harbhajan, Gambhir and Laxman.The duo which have to fire when they are batting together is Gambhir/Sehwag and if Sachin bat with Laxman or Dravid. If Sachin bats with Sehwag it will be even better for the Indian team because both them smash spin bowlers and both run fast between the wickets. SO I think if Sachin and Sehwag bat together while Australia's spinners are bowling India can post a huge total quite quickly.