India Vs Australia Fourth ODI - Match Preview

Indians find themselves in a position they are quite accustomed to as they take on Australia in the fourth ODI at Sector 16 Ground, Chandigarh. A position of being down early in the series and then having to play catch-up is something that even Indian fans are pretty used to now. Sometimes India do manage to pull it off like the recent England Series or even the Twenty20 World Cup. Sometimes they don't - like the World Cup held earlier this year. So what will it be this time around! To expect India winning all 4 remaining games to win the series would be something which would not cross the mind of the most optimist Indian fan right now. But as they say one-game-at-the-time.

The crucial factor should be the toss tomorrow. Batting first should help India in breaking the pattern that has formed in the series. All the matches in the series have been similar so far - Australia batting first and scoring 300 and putting India under pressure. The best chance India currently has is definitely batting first without any pressure and scoring a reasonable score and hoping that the spinners come good in the afternoon. Murali Karthik is certain to play tomorrow. So he along with Harbhajan Singh should be crucial in India putting the brakes on the Aussies. Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Sreesanth have been left out of the Indian team for tomorrow's match. That means Ganguly is certain to open the Innings with Tendulkar which should help India get over the poor starts they have had in the series so far. RP Singh should also get a game and India must be hoping he continues his amazing form shown in The Twenty20 Cup.

Indian batsmen have to put up a better show if they are to give Aussies a fight. Another trouble for India has been the bowling in the slog overs. Hopefully they can sort that out too. As far as Australia goes, there is a possibility that Nathan Bracken may come-back into the team. That should add some variety to the bowling, not that they are struggling without him. The pitch at Chandigarh is supposed to be a batsman's paradise. A international match is being played here nearly after 15 years and Sachin Tendulkar is the only player from the current squad to have played a game on this ground! That comes as no surprise obviously..

As you would expect when the Aussies are in town, there has been a lot of talk going off the field with each team taking pot-shots at each other. Lets hope the cricket lives up to all the talk and we have a exciting contest. Its time India stood up and gave Aussies a taste of their own medicine - in terms of the brand of cricket played, not in terms of the sledging. So lets hope that day is tomorrow.