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Bring up the big three

India must show more discipline if they are to beat Australia. On occasions, they promised much, but couldn't sustain it long enough to test the Aussies. Generally, a batsman gets himself out about of 90 per cent of the time and only 10 per cent of dismissals are caused by deliveries too good for him. Unfortunately, the Indian batsmen committed too many elementary mistakes and made the Australian bowlers' task too easy.

Australia has a fine, patient and very disciplined attack and this has been their strong point for many years. They bowl a tough, unrelenting line which wears the opposition down and forces them into error as the pressure grows. The best way to counter this is with attacking batting and turning the strike over so that their bowlers cannot bowl to the same batsmen for six balls in a row and then exert the type of pressure which invariably leads to a dismissal. Rotating the strike means a bowler has to change his line and tactics consistently and no bowler likes this as they know the pressure is off the batsmen and back onto them.

Captain Sachin Tendulkar must lead the way in this regard. While I believe he may have been a little unlucky in umpiring decisions, he played poor strokes. In the first innings, he played outside of his left pad to Shane Warne with short-leg lurking for such a misjudgment and in the second, made the cardinal mistake of ducking to a short bouncer without ascertaining what height the ball was going to rise to. Most batsmen made similar, simple mistakes, which made life much easier than it should have been for the bowlers.

India, before lunch on the third morning, showed the right approach when Sachin and Ganguly took a more positive attitude and the Australian bowlers were under pressure and bowling loose deliveries. It seems at present that the Indian batsmen are batting without real rhythm and are going for the big shots or being ultra-cautious. This is exactly what the Australian bowlers want and the Indian batsmen need to be more mentally alert to such circumstances.

I would like to see a change in the batting line-up with the big three brought up to the third, fourth and fifth spots. At present, the most inexperienced and vulnerable batsmen are one, two and three. This is not good enough and to my mind, negative. The big three are the class act in the Indian team and they must accept the responsibility that goes with being the best.

I felt the Indian bowlers did well in patches and stuck well to their task in the tough second innings and kept the Aussie batsmen under pressure. I liked the way Tendulkar used the swing bowlers from one end and had Kumble tying up the other. With this pressure, the Australian batting looked vulnerable and wickets fell. Kumble bowled with intelligence and used the pitch well. I have been saying for some years now that a great swing bowler would worry any modern-day batsman, due to lack of experience against swing bowling. The Indian new ball attack, when they moved the ball, troubled all the Australian batsmen.

I particularly enjoyed Agarkar's bowling. He has been somewhat of a wayward talent, but in Adelaide, he swung the ball dangerously, and particularly in the second innings, with good control. I was delighted to see Srinath bowling with great tempo, but with just as much pace and far better control. Srinath is a class act when he doesn't rush in and try to bowl too quick.

The Indian fielding had its usual ups and downs. The fielders were certainly better in the second innings but are still dropping too many vital catches and seldom taking the half-chances. They must give their bowlers more support and force situations to happen.

India, on the third morning, showed they have the capacity to do well. They must learn from that and show more aggression and poise at Melbourne.

(Gameplan)

Bobby Simpson