Ignition Is The Key

The first round of matches got over on Wednesday with India romping home, bonus point in hand, against Zimbabwe at my home ground, Hobart. It was a very easy win for India and going by the evidence of the first three matches of the VB Series, it looks like neither Australia nor India will have any trouble making it to the finals—since Zimbabwe are struggling pretty badly. Only their captain Heath Streak has shown any signs of form, trying to make up for the poor show from his top order as well as his erratic bowlers.

As far as India and Australia are concerned, the intensity of their on-field contests in the four Tests has continued into the one-dayers. The tri-series opener at Melbourne was a high-scoring exciting match, where a dramatic reversal of fortunes saw us home. When we had come out to field, I was pretty happy with the total though there had been a time in our innings when we looked set to cross 300. Our bowling was really top-class and let's say we were very, very unlucky not to get a breakthrough within the first 15 overs.

The number of times Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar were beaten was unbelievable, and I really felt disappointed for Jason Gillespie and Brad Williams. But once the openers put on 100 for no loss, our total began to look less formidable.

My personal standout memory of the game was my catch of Tendulkar, which will go into my own all-time best list of catches. I rate it so highly not only because I was fielding pretty close to the bat, but also because it came at a point when nothing was going our way. That dismissal did grab a bit of momentum away from the Indians, and even though Ganguly and Yuvraj did a fair repair job, the asking rate was always more than a run a ball from then on.

As far as the last six wickets were concerned, we knew that if we got either Ganguly or Yuvraj out, we would be into the lower half of the Indian batting which looked a little thin in the absence of Mohammed Kaif. The lanky youngster has the knack of batting well with the lower order, and the Indians missed him at Melbourne. When both Yuvraj and Ganguly got out in quick succession, we knew it was just a question of holding on to our nerves. Our second match, this time against Zimbabwe, saw us reach only 225, and even though we won the match convincingly enough to get a bonus point, I was not happy with our batting. Against that attack, we should have got 250, and once again we fell short of the target we looked set to reach in the middle overs. Fortunately for us, our bowling in the first few overs was brilliant and once the top half of Zimbabwe's batting was back in the pavilion, we knew we were safe.

Taking stock after the first few matches, I have to admit the difference between India and Australia is not very much at the moment. In fact, I think it was a greater gap during the World Cup, where we beat the Indians convincingly in both our encounters. The main reason for this is that we have not yet played to our full potential in the current tri-series. There are a few areas that need to be worked upon, like the contribution from our top order. In the past, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist have been explosive and destructive in the first 15 overs, and that has not happened in the first couple of games. At Melbourne and Sydney, we were 100 for four, a situation that is far from ideal in one-dayers. Our middle order has done a good damage control exercise in both games, but to be really unassailable, we need a good start to buoy the solidity in the middle.

The other worry is our inability to get an early breakthrough against India, a factor that plagued us in the Tests too. Like I said earlier, the Indian openers were really lucky in Melbourne, so I would say that it is only a matter of time before we get that area of the game under control. We had a chat about both these aspects, and as captain I have always noticed that this team gets better with every outing. At present, the gap between India and Australia is not too much, but if we start playing the way we have in the past, it's going to get tougher for India to beat us.

It was nice for me to carry some form from the Tests into the one-dayers. However, I have not been able to convert confident starts into big scores as yet. I'm not unduly worried because I like the way the ball is coming off my bat, so it's only a matter of time before I get going. On the plus side is the fact that the middle and lower order "utility players" have really done well in both games. Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke bailed us out of a sticky situation in Melbourne and Sydney, and the latter is getting better with every game. Ian Harvey was really brilliant in a tight finish against India, and the run-out he effected of Ganguly was really crucial in that game.

It's also nice to have Brad Williams back. He's the kind of player that every captain likes to have in his side. He is eager, tries hard, has aggression and simply never gives up. He hit the deck beautifully to pick up five against Zimbabwe, and I think his initial omission from the side has made him eager to prove a point.

There has been so much speculation about Brett Lee's omission from our first two games that I was forced to speak to the media about it. Brett has played a lot of cricket since he came back from injury. He played a couple of first-class games to prove his fitness and then played in the back-to-back Tests in Melbourne and Sydney. Those were tough games for all the bowlers, and I just thought that Brett was looking a little flat and spent in the Sydney Test. Going for over 200 runs can demoralise any bowler, and in the second innings at the scg, he looked really under the weather. I had a word with Brett, and we agreed that a short break would do him a world of good. He has now had a week off, and I'm sure that he will bowl with more energy and life when he gets back into the eleven at Hobart, for our next game against Zimbabwe.

I have spoken about our top order not really getting off the blocks, but I think the next round of matches will see an improved performance from Hayden, Gilchrist and myself. Even Michael Bevan is due for a big score, so from the batting point of view our best is yet to come. We meet India next at Brisbane, and the pitch there should suit the likes of Brett and Brad. True, the Indians batted extremely well at the Gabba during the Test there, but we have a very strong record at that venue. And who knows, even the formidable Indian batting can have a day off every now and then!