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Aussies capable of bouncing back

India are clear favourites ahead of the Delhi Test match, writes
Steve Waugh

— Photo: S. Subramanium

KOTLA BECKONS: Anil Kumble, who received a lot of flak for his poor show at Bangalore, will be keen to prove a point at Delhi.

The controversy about excerpts from Adam Gilchrist’s soon to-be-released autobiography has taken some of the attention away from the build-up to what promises to be an absorbing third Test in this series.

It’s unfortunate that an incident that is best left behind has again made headlines, but Adam too had no choice but to talk about it in his book because it was one of the major incidents in his final Test series.

It was hard to guess what really transpired during the Sydney Test from the outside, and only the protagonists know what was actually said. However, Adam has spoken to Sachin Tendulkar and also cleared the air through a clarification, so chances are that the incident will not be the talking point once the cricket begins on Wednesday.

Coming to the cricket, Australia find themselves in the unusual position of trailing in a Test series. It is a huge challenge for them to come back and win, but they will know that they have actually played just one poor game.

They were the better side in Bangalore, and most of the players are senior enough to know that they can come back from just one bad performance.

I am in Delhi at the moment and have met some of the Australians over the last couple of days. Brett Lee has had a tough series so far, but I think he will be better prepared for the next Test. He relies a lot on preparation before a series, and because of some personal problems his build-up for the series was less than ideal.

This week-long gap will give him time to train hard, and Brett will be keen to prove he is still a champion bowler. In my last article I had mentioned that it would be a good idea to bring in Jason Krejza, but it’s unlikely that the playing XI will be tinkered with at this stage.

Likely change

India too have a couple of selection problems since they must find a way to bring back captain Anil Kumble on his favourite ground. I would not be surprised if they play three spinners in this Test, and leave out V.V.S. Laxman to accommodate Kumble.

Like Brett, Kumble too has received a lot of flak for just a couple of poor performance. Chances are that these two champions might come into their own in the remaining two Tests.

India are clear favourites ahead of this Test match, and it will be hard for them to come up with a performance to match their victory at Mohali.

They have just played one of their best Tests in the past decade and that would have raised expectations from them.

Gameplan

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