India look to bounce back, says Kumble

SYDNEY—Skipper Anil Kumble is working to ensure his Indian team react positively in Wednesday’s second cricket Test with Australia after their chastening first-up defeat in Melbourne.
India’s feted batsmen failed to deliver as they were dismissed for sub-200 totals in both innings — 196 and 161 — for the first time in a Test for five years.
Australia, following their crushing 337-run victory, can hold on to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a record-equalling 16th consecutive Test victory in the Sydney Cricket Ground match.
India have much to do to get on terms with the world No.1 team. Apart from not scoring anywhere near enough runs, their scoring rate was well down and the tourists’ ground fielding was lethargic in comparison to the hosts.
It was Australia’s attention to detail, in formulating bowling and fielding plans for individual batsmen, a disciplined approach to suffocating the Indian scoring and a desire for quick running between wickets, that exposed a gulf.
The Indians will be hoping for a more responsive SCG pitch, with its renowned turn, than the low, slow drop-in pitch at Melbourne which troubled their well-credentialled batting.
But more importantly it comes down to India’s reaction to their Melbourne four-day humiliation. Kumble is upbeat that all that is needed is a reinvigoration of the team’s mental approach to the professional thoroughness of the Australians.
“It is a mental makeup that we have to adjust, and address before the Sydney Test,” Kumble said this week. “Once that gets addressed, I am sure the batsmen have the skills to counter whatever strategies they come up with.” The Indians are expected to ditch their experiment with Rahul Dravid at opener, following his torturous 21 runs in 180 balls which placed pressure on the remainder of India’s batsmen in Melbourne.
The 116-Test batsman, known as ‘The Wall’ is likely to revert to his customary No.3 slot and make way for either the dashing Virender Sehwag or Dinesh Karthik to open the innings with Wasim Jaffer.
In that eventuality, the moody Yuvraj Singh, a disappointment at No.6 in Melbourne, is likely to be axed. The Australians have shown a remarkably seamless transition from the Warne/McGrath era with their new bowling attack twice whipping out the Indians cheaply at Melbourne.
In three Tests since the retirements of the bowling titans, Australia have had three thumping home wins, twice against Sri Lanka and last weekend over India. In the first innings of those three matches, Australia have yielded meagre scores of 246, 211 and 196. They have never been behind in those contests.
Australia’s new-look attack, rated by team bowling coach Troy Cooley as the equal of the England foursome he mentored to Ashes success over Australia in 2005, all have played their part. Brett Lee took six wickets, Stuart Clark five, Brad Hogg four, Mitchell Johnson three and Andrew Symonds one.
Cooley says the current Australian crop and England circa 2005 are similar in the amount of variation and quality they both possess.
Captain Ricky Ponting can take much of the credit for the thought that went into dismantling the Indian batting, particularly the excruciating pressure his team exerted on India’s big four — Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, V.V.S. Laxman and Sourav Ganguly.
The sheer weight of their experience and runs was expected to wear down the relatively inexperienced Australian bowling attack.
But that did not happen, and now the pressure is on Kumble and his team to make sure it does in Sydney, otherwise the trophy will still be in Australia’s keeping by match end and just halfway through the four-match series.—Agencies