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.

India Vs Australia Third ODI - Preview

Just a couple of days for recuperating and the teams will be out again on the ground tomorrow for another intense battle. Thankfully the scheduling of matches in India has improved from what it was a few years ago, and the teams will now be completing all their matches scheduled for southern India before moving upwards. I remember a few years ago when the teams would be criss-crossing entire India in a random fashion and still had only two days in between matches. Anyway back to the current series and the final match in southern India will be played at Hyderabad - my favourite city down under.

This stadium in Hyderabad - Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium will be hosting only its second One Day International. And this one is not known to be as high-scoring as its predecessor in Hyderabad. The earlier ground in Hyderabad was a typical belter. Who can ever forget the Sachin Tendulkar special - 186*- his highest score in ODIs and the record 331 run partnership with Dravid. But things are a bit different at the current ground in Hyderabad. The only ODI played here almost two years ago saw India struggling to reach 250. Also domestically it is known for high-scoring games. So we should see some good contest between the bat and ball tomorrow..

The battle of words between the two teams has been intense in the last two matches. Hope the Indians can tomorrow let the ball and bat do most of the talking.. Aussies have already made their statement in the first two matches. Its time for India to stand up and show that they are here not just to compete but to win. Aussies will be strengthened by the return of their skipper Ponting who has passed a fitness test and should be back to his No. 3 spot tomorrow. As for India Saurav Ganguly is set to return tomorrow and probably Gambhir - the top score for India in the Twenty20 world cup final will have to sit out to make way for him. Hopefully one of the big three will fire tomorrow and show that they still belong to the team. Also a much improved performance from the Indian spinners will be needed if they are to trouble Australia. There is some talk of Sreesanth being made to sit out in tomorrow's match because of his behaviour in the last two matches, which would be utterly moronic. Hope some common sense prevails and he does play tomorrow.

So hopefully it will be a close contest and not a match where the result is known mid-way of second Innings. Win the toss and bat first like any other Indian ground at this time of the year should be the mantra here as well. So lets hope that Dhoni wins the toss and India bat first. That should be their best chance of winning and equaling the series. Indians have it in them to come back in the series. No doubt about it.. Lets hope some key players do fire tomorrow and ensure that the series is a exciting one...