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India has to overcome mental fatigue

MELBOURNE, FEB. 5. Australia's recent supremacy on the world stage of one-day cricket will be put to test on Friday in Melbourne if the Indian team can recapture the innocent hope and determination that it displayed in the Brisbane Test match late last year. If it can't recapture that mind-set then its tour of Australia is destined to finish on a down note.

The pace and bounce of the Perth wicket has brought many teams undone in the past although many of them have bounced back to play well and win games. Many though have gone the way of boats and planes that have innocently sailed into the infamous Bermuda triangle never to be seen again.

I don't expect that to happen to Sourav Ganguly and his men for they are strong but the force is with the Australians at the moment and India has much to do if it is to turn the tide of confidence back from them. Ricky Ponting will use the momentum to urge his men on to finish the series as quickly as possible for he knows how the tide can turn if India gets off to a good start at the MCG on Friday.

Despite what Adam Gilchrist said at the end of the game, the Perth wicket is not typical of Australian conditions. It is unique in world cricket with its high percentage of montmorillonite type black soil that is conducive to pace and bounce. Melbourne does not have the same soil so it will be friendlier to the batsman.

The biggest problem for Ganguly to counter may not be the Australian attack but the mental tiredness of his men. It has been a long tour and their minds will be wandering to thoughts of familiar surroundings and being with family and friends. No matter what happens in the finals they will return as heroes but it could be with a few qualifications if they allow Australia to brush them aside as easily as they did in the World Cup final last year.

It doesn't matter how long a tour is, it is in the last couple of weeks that the mental lethargy starts to play tricks on the mind. Once players have emotionally left the tour it is hard to get them back on track again so the senior players will need to carry an even bigger burden for the team in this final week.

It will take a monumental effort of will for Ganguly himself to turn around his fortunes. His last few innings have been disappointing in the extreme and he is in danger of going home with question marks again about his own abilities against the quicker bowling. He will have to show greater composure against all of the bowlers but especially Brett Lee.

Since Lee returned to the Australian team Ganguly has not been able to maintain the processes that he worked so hard on perfecting before he set off on this tour. It is almost as though he does not believe in his considerable ability once the extra pace is introduced. So much so that he has even appeared befuddled against the bowlers of lesser pace. The answers will have to come from within if he is to have a positive impact in the finals.

It was Ganguly who set the tone for the Test series with his brilliant and courageous century in Brisbane and it will take that type of effort from one of the top order batsman on Friday to push the rampant Australians back and set up the one-day finals in similar fashion. Sehwag and Tendulkar will be the ones with the first opportunity and they are as well credentialed as anyone to get the job done. Both will have to show a lot more resolve than they did in Perth if they are to blunt the Australian pace attack and set the foundation for a big Indian score.

The toss will be vital. Common wisdom suggests that batting first in day/night matches is the best way to win. Get in first and get a big score on the board and put the pressure on the opposition to chase under lights. Thursday was hot in Melbourne so the wicket should favour batting, but as on Friday the weather is expected to be much cooler, there could be some dew around in the evening to help the team bowling second.

Chasing a total of 300 or thereabouts is never easy, even for the best of batting sides, because it means a lot of big shots need to be played and played early. This will be the aim of whichever team bats first and a good start will be what both captains will hope for.

Gilchrist is in sparkling form for the Australians and looms as India's biggest danger when Australia bats. He has the ability to intimidate the bowlers while he destroys them with power and precision of which few batsmen, even at this level, are capable. Symonds is also looming as a destructive player who can turn a match while Hayden and Ponting may not be in peak form but they are big match players. The rest of the Australian batsmen can be contained if they are put under some pressure.

Interestingly neither batting side has been in great form of late but that could be because there has been a mental let down since both sides realised they would meet in the finals. The team that can fire-up the quicker for these matches will probably win, so the first fifteen overs will be full of tension and excitement.

Lee could be the biggest factor in favour of Australia. He returned to form in Perth and will bring a lot more confidence into this game since the World Cup. He has shaken off the ill effects of his injury and he bowled the best length he has bowled for longer than I can remember. At his pace, bowling at that length, there is not a better fast bowler in the world and as someone who feeds off his own confidence he may be the deciding factor in this best of three series.

It would be ironic if a bowler could have the final say in a summer that has been dominated by batsmen of class and in a format of the game that has done its best to cut bowlers out of the equation. Maybe some sanity and balance can be returned to the short version of our game after all.

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