Dravid was clearly unhappy doing an opener’s job despite his press statements. And he has a right to be: to mess about with India’s best and most consistent middle-order batsman since Tendulkar’s glory days, especially when he’s going through a lean period, is stupid and inconsiderate. To watch the hero of India’s last Australian tour batting like an oppressed bank clerk was awful. In the seventies and eighties when public sector unions in India were stronger than they are now, they would ‘work to rule’, i.e. they would sleepwalk through their jobs in slow motion, doing the barest minimum required by the law. Unlike those time-servers Dravid, as always, gave his all, but the end result was the same: an agonized crawl.

What makes the decision to coerce Dravid into opening even more infuriating is that it was done to make room for a pretender. Yuvraj doesn’t belong in Test cricket. He’s a wonderful limited-overs player who, unfortunately for India’s Test fans, scores the occasional century on the sub-continent’s dead wickets to stay in contention. If you’re playing a side with one dysfunctional fast bowler, a defensive spinner and a bunch of middling medium pacers on a flat track, then Yuvraj is the bully you need. In any other circumstance, he ought to be India’s first pick for 12th man. In the first innings of this Test Yuvraj mimed elaborate dissatisfaction when he was given a bad decision. Given that he had just been let off when he nicked one off Hogg that wasn’t given, you have to marvel that he had the gall to moan. To top that, in the second innings when Hogg had him lbw with a flipper that was going to hit middle, he still managed to look injured in that hard-done-by way that he’s patented.

If the squad’s selectors want to gamble on a batsman, much better that they gamble on Sehwag who is, as Ian Chappell persistently points out, the kind of aggressive opening batsman who might seize the initiative from Australia. At least Sehwag can point to previous successes Down Under. Since we haven’t got another spinner in the touring party, Harbhajan Singh will play in Sydney despite his performance here, so it’s even more urgent that the Indian team gets its batting sorted out. Given Harbhajan’s recent record, Sehwag’s inclusion would at least give Kumble the option of an offspinner who occasionally flights the ball.

None of this is likely to happen. I have the sinking feeling that in the name of consistency and giving Yuvraj a proper run, we’ll go into the Sydney Test with the same team. It’s meant to be a spinner’s wicket and I can already see Yuvraj in the nets, bowling his left-arm slows.

I want how bad great players like hayden feel when croonies and new commentators under pressure like Michael Slater and Fleming call a person who gets out to a lousy shot a great player.

I think the croonies in the commentary box have overdone the best bastmen in the world part , if anythign Sachin tendulkar is the most capped player thats it. With averages in mid twenties against teams like Australia, Newzealeand and SA in their resp countries that title is a far cry.

very well said mukul... it is idiocy of the highest order to have asked dravid to open when we have someone like sehwag... was he taken only to cool his heels ? he couls have done that here as well... the selectors, it seems, are desperate to push yuvraj... he may be a gud player but atleast not better sehwag if we go by statistics alone in test cricket... sehwag definitely needs to be in the team for sydney...

Spot on - In the first innings, Dravid undid all the good work done by the Indian bowlers on the 1st day. Why is Sehwag in the touring team if is not to make it in the final 11?

Agree. India lost 1st test. But still 3 more pending. We can see some trouble ( batting order ) in the team.

Sachin , Dravid & Yuvraj can make better than next matches.

They should make 400+ to beat AUS.

This is highly opportunistic. When Yuvraj fails, jump on him. When he succeeds, maintain silence or pooh pooh it. All right he scored on a flat track where there were half fit bowlers, but he did come in at 62/4 or something. If the bowling and the wicket was so poor, then we should have been 300 for no loss really! VVS didn't complete a half century either in this match, nor did Jaffer do anything of the sorts he did in India. Why single Yuvraj out?

Great Article, but Yuvraj actually hit his caught behind in the 1st innings, snicko showed, and proved it and there was a slight deflection, so i don't know what he was complaining about! Out twice in 3 balls!

The success of the previous Aus tour was mainly due to the solid opening partnership from Sehwag and Chopra, with Viru scoring at a good rate. It is imperative to succeed against Australia to start well. I don't think one needs to be too harsh with Yuvraj, but Dravid has to be more assertive like Ganguly if he has the best interests of the team (and himself). Kartick/Sehwag could have done a better job.

Shocking batting performance, the batsmen were clearly scared of the Austrailan bowling attack and tried to stay out in the middle for as long as they could. Yuvraj should be dropped as you are messing up with a winning formula (with probably Sehwag opening as he will look to score and unsettle their bowlers). One could also argue that Dravid may need a gap year from international cricket like Ganguly but that should be considered after this tour.

Absolutely spot on,boss................We've nullified whatever advantage we had in our fab 4 line-up by asking dravid to open,which in turn,is putting lot of pressure on the likes of sachin and laxman to up the tempo,since the openers are hardly makning any runs.....Yuvraj is,and will still remain,a greatest one day player of all time and a mediocre in test cricket(just like Bevan).....We must include Sehwag to stand any chance at Sydney.....Otherwise,the dream of the legends to concure the aussie land will remain forever the same...........

agree. i think india lost the test match as soon as they sent out dravid to open in the warm up match. as gavaskar said in his interview today, whats the point of bringing sehwag here if hes not going to play. he wud be much better off getting some practice in domestic cricket then sitting on the bench.

I'm shocked. An honest evaluation of the Indian team's performance (oh I'm sorry, Team India) from Cricinfo. Be careful Mukul, its a lonely road to tell the truth.

India needs to stop trying to fit in its glamour boys. Harbajan and Yuvraj are just not Test players. It is not like India does not have examples for the young players: Sachin shows that talent can be mouled into invincibility, Ganguly shows the value of testicular fortitude and Anil Kumble never gives up.

What a contrast to the petulance of Yuvraj, the arrogance of Dhoni's "technique" (use your top hand for heaven's sake) and the monotony and laziness of Harbajan Singh.

The administrators should also not be above criticism. Packing a pointless T20 into the tour at the expensive of practice matches. Ofcourse if India win that T20, the sorry scenes of the last few days will be forgotten by everyone, maybe even by Mukul.

Very well articulated. They're killing Dravid with such idiocy. Sadly, there's no one to defend him after such a performance, despite him using all his lung power to convince people he was "okay" with opening "if the team needed it".
What was the need to try this arrangement in the first game of a fresh match? It was as good as saying, two of the 16 guys on tour are just not good enough to be in the team. Ultra-defensive, and it's not Dravid, but Kumble and his team selection.

And what excuse do the "in-form" batsmen have, coming in well after the shine's off the cherry, to get out in 40s and 50s? What's worse, people are hailing these 50s as achievements. They should be flogged for giving wickets away after being in such good nick.

As about Yuvraj Singh, he has mastered cricket's version of "sliding".
We've messed up an entire batting line-up trying to fit one man in.

And that's why India deserves to lose. For playing timid cricket.

Well said Mukul. It's difficult to believe that years of planning went into this abject batting performance. Did India really think that batting in this ultra-defensive manner was the recipe for beating a rampant Australian team? Have they not learned anything from watching the failures of say Kallis and Bell? Have they not seen that the only way to try to beat this Australian team is to take the attack to them, a la Pietersen, Sangakkara and of course Lara (in times gone by)? Even Dravid himself was a great success on the last tour when he deliberately batted with more intent. It's amazing to think that all the team meetings and video analysis and think tanks led India (and Dravid) to revert back to this mode of dogged shotlessness until a good ball eventually gets you. Where was the upside to this method? This Australian attack (and fielding) will eventually create a chance unless you take the game to them and try to change the pattern of domination. Strange thinking indeed.

I do not agree that Yuvraj does not belong at the Test match level. He has never been given an extended run, which is mainly bcoz the foursome in the middle order have been consistent over the years. In any case, Dravid should not open for the remainder of the series. Dravid scored 21 runs of 180 balls in this test and that is both pathetic and miserable. It is now almost inevitable that India will gamble on Sehwag in the Sydney test. They should, too. Moreover, India's bowlers have many lessons to learn from the Aussie attack, that is, not to gift away as many freebies to the batsmen as they do. That's the main reason why the Aussies pile up big scores and win tests in less than 5 days. India will need to draw on the last bit of their mental and physical energy only to claw their way back in the series, never mind winning it.

"Yuvraj doesn’t belong in Test cricket. He’s a wonderful limited-overs player who, unfortunately for India’s Test fans, scores the occasional century on the sub-continent’s dead wickets to stay in contention."
What about the century he scored vs pakistan in pakistan 2nd Test 2003/04 at Lahore when umar gul
ripped through our top order. You got to give hime more respect than calling him a pretender Mr Mukul.

Right on! Class is permenant, and Yuvraj, just doesnt have it, to cut it, against the best, in thr Test match arena. Meanwhile, I dont understand why Rohit sharma, or a certain badrinath havent been given the look-in. Everybody knows that Yuvi, cant play spin. Please! Dont go back to his 169 against a Paki side with danish kaneria. I think if they retain this side, 4-0 is a definite.

couldn't agree with you more, mukul. there was no personality in dravid's batting, and if your opener is supposed to set the tone for your innings, then dravid's demeanor left me certain that our a**es would be handed to us by the aussies.
not that dravid's to blame- he's a quality batsman going through a tough phase, and shoving him into the face of an incisive attack is hardly the way to help him get back to form.
one of the articles on cricinfo today talked about ponting's man-management skills re: brad hogg. it'd be nice to see kumble and the selectors do the same for the second test.

Fully agree , indians never try to put pressure on australia , they played pathetic cricket .. Shewag must play the second test..and kick out dravid and yuvraj..

I fully agree with Dravid fans, that to accommodate Yuvraj, Dravid should not be asked to open. Actually giving Dravid opening slot, his friend Kumble has shown a lot of respect of his calibre. Dravid should have been droped from the final eleven considering his present form. Kumble should immediately drop Dravid from the tean for rest of the series and give Shewag a chance to open who can fight fire with fire and has courage to face Australian bowling. With present frame of mind, Dravid is in no position to cope the pressure. Only Ganguly and Tendulkar has shown form among this bunch in first test.

Article reflects the mind of every Indian cricket lover. It is time pragmatic decision is taken andf Schewag brought in. Yuvaraj cannot be better described. Gambhir and Schewag will be the ideal pair. As could be seen from Australian opening pair, defensive attitude is not going to help in bouncy Australian tracks, the way Laxman went in first innings not knowing what is to be done to chest high bouncer when he is a good puller shows negative mindset can bring down the best.

Clear up to the point article. It is shocking to see how Dravid is being treated, probably the only person after Tendulkar to have the mettle to handle the great Australian bowling line up (sadly his consistency has deserted him). But no matter what happens we will be outplayed in all departments in this series...a whitewash is on the cards until something totally out of the blue happens...which really doesnt seem to be on the cards.

when we go down under we go completely down under ! 100 ceuturies between the top 4 batsmen ; some temas do not even have these much putting all 11 together ; around 35,000 runs and the stort gets repeated every 4 years
we are not able to convert singles into twos; after the first day ; because of teh ground being so huge all of them were tired !
opening is always an issue apart from the last tour
when we bowl well ; batsmen dont deliver and when we bat well bowlers dont deliver ; fielding is always an Issue I guess
what is needed is to realise the fact that we are no way close to Australians to give them a run for their money down under
If Yuvraj singh has to be accomodated then he does not have a choice but to open and if he cannot u need to keep him out because u have lioterally put an alltime great no 3 batsman under the scanner for the rest of the tour
I doubt after what has happended at melbourne he will ever be able to recover for the rest of the tour.

Nicely written blog. I do agree with your comments about Yuvi. He is such a wonderful player in ODIs where the pressure is mostly on the bowlers. If they still dont want to go for Shewag i would like to have pathan in place of Yuvi as it adds atleast a better bowling option. Bhajji has to bowl at 80s like Hogg than 90s. It was a disheartening to see such a loss.

Nice comments. I would agree with most of your observations. This side is unnecessarily putting itself into a difficult situation by not scoring much at all. Instead I was watching the batsmen being over careful to the point of being scared. And the good one would take their wicket away leaving the next batsman in more pressure! India does need a strong opener who can get the doom off the middle order. Also, the existing middle order isnt applying itself diligently it seems. Some of the ways in which the batsmen got out made me feel like the shots were unnecessary - swinging at a ball far outside the offstump and nicking it! Anyway, this side needs to decide mentally if they are ready for this Australian team which is aggressive and doesnt let anything get away. Just hoping for somehow things will become right is not going to work.

LOL ! You just hate Yuvraj, don't you?
But that aside, I can't help feeling that it is the batsmen who let the Indian side down more often than bowlers. With Indians, the moment there's hype, performance takes a dip. We do much better as underdogs.

well very good comments from the writer,always seems anti yuvraj singh.Whether anyone judges or not,the writer seems to be the first one to judge yuvraj as only a one day player,and that too after two innings in the first test.It seems as if he is totally anti yuvraj,and have read many articles by him on yuvraj simlar to this one

Can Kumble explain why he has under used Tendulkar, Ganguly and specially Yuvraj as a bowler when it is well known the weakness of Australians against left arm spin? When a bowler is made a captain, either he over bowl or under bowl, in present case Kumble has over bowled by himself and Harbhajan without trying other options in second innings.

I felt embarassed by the Twenty20 celebrations as I could see it coming...and wrote it on my infrequently updated blog as well:
http://siddhgyan.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html
whereing the Myth 3 I talked about has been, obviously, more lucidly highlighted by Mukul here. Sourav, Sachin and Laxman were the only batsmen who even showed any signs of belonging to this level And I am sure once Dravid is brought to his proper batting position he would show that too. For the rest, the earlier they realise that hitting sixes and making cheerleaders dance is a different ballgame - where will they find cheerleaders who are willing to dance for 5 days:-)

Well,let me say that the days of Neville Cardus are over.There is hardly any romanticism left in cricket now,what's left is hardcore fight,facts and record.They say that the fundamental difference between art and science is that art can never be repeated but science can.Let's admit that what Australia does is science. Art will give you a Laxman's 281 or Bhajji's 32 wickets in 3 tests.But if you mould the three departments of cricket into science see the results from Australia.Their feats are thus repeatable and they are showing it over and over.There is no shame in losing to Australia.For one,they are always the better side in the field but most importantly,in defeat,you can learn a few things if you want to.We can never beat Australia consistently barring a few occassions through some individual brilliances but we have to find the answer.It's there in their process somewhere and we better find it now before it's too late.Otherwise,dude,this game is done.

Agree, one hundred percent with your analysis. Dravid is a two down player. Shewag is a better bet than Yuvi and if they absolutely want Yuvi to prepare him as a test player, then Jaffer should be out.

Think you're being slightly unfair on Yuvraj. For me, he represents the future of Indian cricket? What is more important Mukul? Winning this series or laying the foundations for consistent success in the future?

If it is the former, then stick with the same team. But if it is the latter, then Yuvraj must be persisted with. He represents India's future, and given an opportunity to play alongside Tendulkar and Ganguly to pick their brains and learn.

This shows the BCCI must look past egoism and bid adieu to one of the big three, and I think it must be Dravid, not because he deserves the sack, but India must look to the future, and putting them one of the pasture will make a clear statement that profile should not matter. Australia did the same thing for Mark Waugh in 02, and theyve managed to build on their success from then. India ought to do the same.

Will it be a hard decision? Yes. Will they actually do it though, likely not, seeing the BCCI are an organisation that thrives on ego

salaam!! well palyed DRAVID.hats off to uu.
gr8 team spiRet shown by Kumble & Co.
keep it up

Agree with Dravid at 6 and sehwag as opener. I even think that Viru may turn out to be a better spin option than Bhajji. The other alternative is to drop Dhoni and bring Karthik in. Am not so sure about your sentiments about yuvraj's test future though. The scheduling of this tour is awful (1 practice game which never was and playing a 3rd string pak attack on flat tracks before that) - for someone playing tests in aus for the first time, it is even more amplified, only time will tell but it is time to take some hard calls = doesn't look like status quo will work

very disgusting, disappointing, pathetic performance from indian team. let them all be dropped on to the indian ocean if they fail to win this series.

As usual, Mr. Kesavan, you make it obvious that you have a bias against Yuvraj - you really make it personal when you write against him.

Still I agree with you, but for different reasons, that Dravid shouldn't have opened - they should have never broken a winning combination... Karthik should have been persisted with, he only had one bad series, and in general the opening combine of Jaffer and him complements each other, unlike Dravid and Jaffer.

very disgusting, disappointing, pathetic performance from indian team. let them all be dropped on to the indian ocean if they fail to win this series.

very disgusting, disappointing, pathetic performance from indian team. let them all be dropped on to the indian ocean if they fail to win this series.

I applaud your sentiments Mr Kesavan. One wonders why something that is so apparent, to the intelligentsia of cricket and the local boy down at the pub, seems to escape the minds of the selectors. Yuvraj Singh is not/and will never be a Test quality batsman. And by extension, I would like to state, that neither will Dhoni frankly. On shirtfronts, 20/20, ODIs, their brash, hit-and-miss brute force style might work there. But in Tests, you need application. I think you could do a lot worse, than bring back D Karthik, and someone else technically correct. Akash Chopra maybe?

India’s approach that is in Big Question:
It was again one of those pathetic displays by India more in terms of way they approached this run chase and trying to take the initiative while batting in the first innings.

When any team in the world, when the target set was close to 500 and you have 6 sessions to bat out. There is no way in the world you are going to draw the test match by batting out 180 overs without scoring runs.

India batsmen are themselves to blame rather anything else by not scoring the runs which eventually would put India in the hunt. Rahul Dravid was the example of India’s aggression as they went on talking in media ,played close to 200 balls to get 21 when the match is up for grabs is kind of aggression India is displaying right now.

A fine analysis. As always, only consistent aggression works against the Australian team. England in 2005 gave the blueprint. With India's quality, they should have at least made some attempt to score the runs today. 250 per day, two days. How many Indian players already have double-centuries to their names? Was it so impossible? Didn't VVS and Dravid's big come-back in that classic game prove that India is capable of marvels? I was at the game today and begging for India to try to put scare in us. Instead we saw 160 runs in 5 hours. It may have ended sooner had India attacked, but could it really have ended more ingloriously? Bring back Sehwag!

I think the defeat at the MCG was inevitable. But shuffling both Dravid and Laxman to accommodate Yuvraj - that was criminal !!!
If Yuvraj really is the test batsmen he is claimed to be - he should prove himself as an opener since thats the only way in. Everyone should bat where they do.
Mike Hussey waited for years to get into the side and when he did - he got the #6 spot even though he was an opener for his club sides. Only 14 tests later he was considered so valuable to the middle order that he was overlooked for the openers slot when it did open up. If Yuvraj wants to make a career of playing Test matches he has to work with what he can get

so true, well said
you have said what needed to be said
a painful performance
to make room for someone who then performs appalingly (Yuvraj) , both as a batsmen and in the field, was a travesty
Sehwag will probably come in for the next test, but unfortunately it will be at Jaffers expense.
Harbhajan was appaling as well

what a marvelous write-up by Mukul Kesavan. He is right on money. Greg Chappell long ago mentioned Yuvraj thinks he is a star, when is one in the making instead. Indian selectors have blundered time and again asking Rahul to kep wickets to make room for an extra batsmen, in the past - now they are breaking his grace and honor by asking him to open against Lee and Clark - why did they take Dinesh Krthik and Sehwag

Harbhajan shouls shut his gob - it is high time - he has been making idiotic statements like "India can still win" etc

Tendulkar also has been quite boring in his comments - Ganguly, tendular and Laxman have still some class left - Dravid will join this league if restored to his usual batting slot

first, we should have a coach
Ravi Balkish

You couldn't have been more right in your comments about yuvi being a pretender.He doesn't belong to the hallowed test arena.Dhoni is a flat track bully.He can't even put bat to ball on bouncy wickets.
Ian chappel n gavaskar cried themselves hoarse about including sehwag.I hope this defeat clears many false notions india have about yuvi n dhoni.

Well said Mukul but I would like to talk about another point that you have missed - the one about the BCCI for chalking up this itinerary. Everyone knows Indians are slow starters and thus it's imperative India get at least 2-3 warm-up matches before playing the aussies, but what do we have here? India playing aussies after a solitary warm up totalling a mammoth 40 odd overs!

How can anyone let that one go? Tour to australia is one of the toughest and prestigious tour and I would rank aussie tour on par with the world cup. How can BCCI agree to an intinerary that gives us no chance to be competitive, let alone win? Shouldn't BCCI be responsible for such a c**k up? I hope you raise this issue in your articles and blogs so that someone might take notice of the same. I won't blame players for this debacle as I don't think anyone can land in australia and compete with aussies with 40 overs of practice.

I am sorry Mukul but this one is on BCCI and indian administrators primarlily.

Absolutely agree with Dravid at number 6. But to label Yuvraj a flat track bully is ridiculous. His hundreds in Pakistan were both on green tracks in hopeless situations with a good attack tearing in. If anything he is a very poor player of spin. He's been Murali's bunny in the past and I'm afraid Hogg is going to make an easy meal of him here. Sehwag is a punt and thats about it. On current form you'd have to send him in on a prayer. A reckless Sehwag is good when in form. Out of form he just looks stupid. Let's cut the crap and bring Karthik back. He and Jaffer looked closest to forming somwehat of a partnership at the top. And don't forget he had the highest average in 2007 until he was dropped.

how correct Mukul is. Australians are simply brillant. India has the same problem as all touring parties; the pressure of playing Australia. Why tinker with the batting line up; leave Seewag to open and Dravid at #3. Bowling play pathan who is as effective as R.P at least you have a batting all rounder at #9.

After the first day of the Melbourne Test when India got 9 wickets on the first day, someone wrote an article “Australia challenged at last”……….. May I ask how, where and by whom Australia was challenged?

Indian team, the board management and the public must understand India is not a competitive team as they are being projected by obsessed cricket writers on Cricinfo. This team is a bunch of those mediocre who have already passed their prime time. The sooner this reality is accepted the better it is for the mad and crazy cricket lovers of India.

Watch out 4-0 thrashing!!!

I couldn't agree more Mukul. How the Indian selectors could justify forcing Dravid to open just to fit Yuraj into the side is beyond me. As an Aussie, I thought it played right into our hands to include Yuvraj in this squad. Even though I thought Dravid would perform better than he did, (and it has been just one test) it did not make sense to upset a great player to include a pretender. I was astounded by Yuvraj's attitude during this test match. It was as if he thought he was a legend and had nothing to prove. However as an outsider of Indian cricket, despite his recent good form in oneday and 2020, I have not been impressed one bit by Yuvraj and can't understand why Inidans hold him in such high regard. He may come good later in the series, but I see no reason to include him ahead of Sehwag.

In his present form, Dravid is like a filler used in between acts in dramas and circus. 5 runs from 66 balls and 16 from 114 balls -- is simply occupying the crease (read "disaster waiting to happen").

Great post. Completely agree with you. Kumble at the post match interview, said " Dravid is batting very well. The only advice, I can give him is play each ball on its merit."

If this advice continues, we can be rest assured that it will be a 4-0 thrashing.

I have a sneaky feeling that better sense will prevail upon Kumble and he will open with 'Sehwag' and Jaffer at Sydney, drop Yuvraj and play Dravid in the middle order, hopefully not at 3 but at 6.

Let's hope for the best.

I think Yuvraj is more than just a 'pretender'. He has class and ability and I believe he will be India's leading Test player in the coming years. However, you need to pick horses for courses and in this test match we needed to start aggressively and stay aggressive throughout the game. Putting an out of form Dravid at the top of the line-up was inconsiderate to the great man and was tactically wrong. If at all India wanted to give Sehwag an opportunity, it should have been in the first test when the scoreline was still 0-0. I'm afraid, as you pointed out, India will go into the second test with the same batting line-up and if that does happen, either Jaffer must play aggressively or the middle order must increase the tempo, because at the moment, Dravid seems to be finding survival more important than his strike rate.

How did yuvraj get a bad one?

snicko showed a clear noise as it passed the bat.

basically he was out twice on zero.

brilliant article mukul, u hit the nail on the coffin......

I dont agree with both your comments
1) Yuvraj deserves his place in tests and could be the X Factor that Indian Test cricket needs esp considering our ageing middle order.
2) Dravid, being such a great batsman should have been able to weather the bad form and open the innings. I would have agreed to the opener versus No 3 arguement if Dravid has lost his wicket early in the innings. But in both he withstood the early onslaught only to lose his wicket later on.

If someone can be blamed inarguably for the loss it should be BCCI for not arranging more games before the first test and second test, esp considering that Indians are notoriously slow starters.

Sydney and Melbourne were our best chances of victory considering the nature of the piches. Would Anil Kumble be able to turn the tide in the Sydney test...He would be really looking to the batsmen to put up their hands up.

BTW I feel we performed well as a bowling and fielding unit and should look at that as positive.

One can't agree more to Mukul'point on Dravid. Dravid has been an accomplished player at number three. And repeating his remarks at few interviews, it makes a big change mentally to adjust to the role of an opener for a one down batsman, however correct technically he may be. One couldn't help but curse the selectors at the thought that this experiment has been done to accommodate Yuvraj, who does not boast of any test credentials outside the subcontinent. That Dravid has not complained speaks a lot about his character. Yuvraj has played as opener in previous tests and should be made to open, if this experiment were to continue. India shouldn't make the costly mistake of playing the matches, with the series effectively lost already due to such irrational decisions. Let's admire Dravid play where he belongs to, for all, this might be our last chance in Australia with the big four.

Its sad we lost the match big way after the bowlers did a wondeful job. Last tour the major factor was the strong opening partnership where Akash Chopra was grinding and Sehwag was attacking which gave the required momentum to the others who followed.
Dravid is a great batsman but is out of form and deserved some protection; ought to have come at No 6. Hope we get Sehwag back as opener and Yuvi can wait for longer. Jaffer and Dhoni were out of sorts while Sachin, Ganguly and Laxman could not convert their good starts into big scores. Bowlers did a decent job though and hope we get the combination right for the Sydney test. Its difficult to come back but we got a good team and I am confident we get back on top at Sydney.

The hearing took place after the third day's play. After considering the evidence, match referee Mike Procter decided Yuvraj had not stood his ground in protest. "It was evident that Yuvraj took more time than normal to leave the crease but it was due to the fact that he was shocked at the decision," Proctor said. "At no stage he showed displeasure or dissent at the umpire's decision."

Well cant do much,when the pitch is made to suit the Aussies!

Billy is selected to umpire, a match by the Aussies!

Need a few changes in the batting line in the Indian team!

Rahul Dravid should be sent home!

Get Robin Uthappa into the team!

I completely agree with Mukul on Yuvraj. Players like yuvraj and dhoni have perfromed well at times but comparing them to the likes of tendulkar, dravid or laxman is a big mistake.

Another bad luck for india is that Ganguly is scoring. He is the one whose spot should be used to groom young players. His innings are usually not for the team and doesnt really matter to the end result.

Its time india really concentrate on their game and stop being proud of breaking the 10-20 yr old records by beating England, West Indies and Pakistan who have their weakest squad of the past 20 yrs on contrary to indias strongest ever!!

The hearing took place after the third day's play. After considering the evidence, match referee Mike Procter decided Yuvraj had not stood his ground in protest. "It was evident that Yuvraj took more time than normal to leave the crease but it was due to the fact that he was shocked at the decision," Proctor said. "At no stage he showed displeasure or dissent at the umpire's decision."

Well cant do much,when the pitch is made to suit the Aussies!

Billy is selected to umpire, a match by the Aussies!

Need a few changes in the batting line in the Indian team!

Rahul Dravid should be sent home!

Get Robin Uthappa into the team!

Interesting to read the comments from an Indian point of view. The one thing that wasn't mentioned that separates theses two sides is the size in the ability to field.But I suppose that has been apparent for some time now. It has become frustrating that the other sides are still so far behind Australia in the field when they have had so long to improve in this area.
I would go with Sehwag to open and hope India comes out attacking with the bat for the rest of the series, they have the class of batsman for crying out loud. If they don't attack and put there talent on show it not only kills the game as a spectacle but also gives them no chance of winning. Australia score at about or just under 4 an over in tests which always gives them a chance to win a game quickly and it puts the opposition under pressure from the word go.

Whatever Indians do they wont be able to stop the Aussie Juggernaut. To be frank Indians dont have it in them to beat Aussies even if all the players in the best of their form. Test cricket is won by a collective effort, something that is rarely seen from the Indian team. Do we have the bowling to dismiss Aussies twice in a test match -the answer is a Blunt NO!! Do we have the batsman to score runs consistently and score them when required. I will say - depends on thier mood!!

Not able to cross 200 in both innings against an attack that was without McGrath and Gillespie, and on a track that was more without bounce and pace is just an indicator of the things to come in the series.
Well lets hope for the best!! At least even a fight from Indians will nice to see.

Mukul you've hit the nail right on its head.Yuvraj just doesn't belong to Test cricket and will NOT as long as he continues to be fumbled by spin.He just didn't have any idea as to what Hogg was bowling...it was just a question when he would get out not!The only way forward for India in the series is to pick Sehwag to partner Jaffer at Sydney and get Rahul back at 3 or 6.He's been India's greatest batsman overseas and in his moment of crisis the least the team management can do is give him the place where HE feels comfy.make no mistake:no matter how many runs India's strokemaker make Dravid just HAS to come good to hope to compete with Australia...thoughts of winning can be left for another day.

There is very little logic in Team selection matters in India.Yuvaraj is only a limited overs player and has never succeeded against good bowling , be it spin or pace.When there are so many youngsters knocking at the door why should we select the old veterans who have only their past records to support them.It is similar to the old politicians wanting to continue in our country though many have now become senile.
There has to be an all round change in the mind set if we have to improve our record overseas.

you are right mukul.sending the wall to the opening slot was a blunder.he gotta bat at 3.get shewag in n hope that he can repeat his feat of 197 from the last tour.at least hes not gonna waste 120 balls for 15.if he stays for 120 balls hez gonna score 100.but it seems that the selectors are gonna stick to the same team n i can see india going down 2-0 already.

Yuvraj not test level because he failed in both the innings and had the audacity to score against 'weaker' teams at home? Isn't that true about the rest of the famed batting lineup too? We so highly speak about India's last tour to Aussie-land, but wasn't that the weakest bowling lineup that Australia had fielded ever? I wholeheartedly agree with your first paragraph - the rest, I must say, is just meaningless.

I think Dravid did his job, at least in the second innings. India had to play out six sessions. Dravid played out one of them. There are five other batsmen; had each lasted for one session, India would have saved the match.

i've to agree. Add Dhoni to the list of 'pretenders'. He is the supreme example of a subcontinent bully. He, more than yuvi, doesn't belong to the test arena. Harbhajan Singh should be thrown out. i was listening to his interview after the third day. he said that one can't always take 32 wickets. thats ridiculous! the idiot hasn't done anything since then.
This was the kind of performance that makes you ant to support Australia. Pathetic!

Whatever Indians do they wont be able to stop the Aussie Juggernaut. To be frank Indians dont have it in them to beat Aussies even if all the players in the best of their form. Test cricket is won by a collective effort, something that is rarely seen from the Indian team. Do we have the bowling to dismiss Aussies twice in a test match -the answer is a Blunt NO!! Do we have the batsman to score runs consistently and score them when required. I will say - depends on their mood!!

Not able to cross 200 in both innings against an attack that was without McGrath and Gillespie, and on a track that was without bounce and pace is just an indicator of the things to come in the series.
Well lets hope for the best!! At least even a fight from Indians will nice to see.

If you go by avg's for batting(i believe it reflects on talent for example #11 would never have an avg of 50.00) and Sehwag not only bat's at almost 50.00 but also avg's better than most bat'smen in the present test team.I fail to understand WHY he is not playing.One bad tour in SA and he is discarded(for god's sake he is not avg-ing in the 30's)If anybody who is reading and can make a difference in the indian test team selection PLEASE LET SEHWAG PLAY TEST CRICKET and you will see in time India from pretenders will be contender as the best team in world cricket.

ha ha. a typical comment from a fanatical disappointed fan. Come on, they're not gonna win every game. They just need to keep it interesting enough to have the endorsements alive. Did you see anyone play with ambition, resolve or purpose, except maybe Ganguly. They preferred the extra day off than winning or drawning this game. Well, the pitch wasn't gonna get any better, so might as well get done with it. Why defy statistics, 499 is too much to get from 188 overs.

This is a good article. There are some more points to add to it. How can Dravid be asked to open when we have Sourav and Tendulkar who have opened in 250 odd ondays each ? How can one elevate Laxman to one drop when sourav with his mediocre technique kept on coming ahead of Laxman for most part of the last decade ? We have instances where Yuvaraj and Dhone coming ahead of Laxman and i don't understand why sourav, yuvraj and dhoni's did not opt to go one down. Instead they pushed Laxman to one drop. We have no consistent record of Dhone scoring overseas. Karthik who has a better record overseas and particularly on bouncy tracks should be considered ahead of Dhoni. Thank god we did not elevate Dhoni to captain position in Tests. Let him first show that he can succeed with bat overseas. On pure keeping technique karthik is ahead of him. Let us get things right.

Mukul,
I was wondering how a person like you can teach history as you seem to have a memory of a gold fish. You wrote off yuvraj singh to be a bully of mediocre attacks on subcontinent wickets, yuvraj's first hundred was on a green top in pakistan when umar gul(as good as any current australian bowler)was ripping through our great batting line up in 2004. Yuvraj's second hundred was on karachi green top when mohammed asif(better than any current australian fast bowler on his day)was running through our batting line up. Bowling line up consisting of akthar, gul and asif is as good as any bowling lineup in the world. Most recent century from yuvi was on a pitch no different than the MCG wicket and when he walked in India was struggling at 4 for 60 odd runs against your mediocre bowling attack. Yuvi has never been given a long run in test cricket for his potential.We would not have seen players like kallis,stevewaugh,laxman if they were dropped after their initial performances in tests

Spot on. Reality check for the team. It was disgusting to see last series match winner Dravid being forced to open. But I don't see your solution to this to work either in the long term. Sehwag has to understand that every ball can't be hit for a 4 or 6. I would go for the pair of Jaffer and Karthik to open. This match was batsmen problem, next match is gona be bowler problem.

India needs to play with the genuine opener like Sehwag / Karthik and leave out Yuvraj from the playing 11. Also they should have included Murali Karthik, who has performed extremely well against Australians in the recent ODI series.

Absolutely spot-on analysis !
No changes to the team are expected for Sydney.
But I think Dinesh Kartik would be better serve the team (as batsman-keeper) than Dhoni in Australia in tests matches
Another person who might have worked well in these conditions is Robin Uthappa (though no-where on the radar of BCCI selectors for test matches) At lest he's fearless, agressive & shows intent to score runs.

It is heart breaking to see India going down with out a fight.If we need to accommodate Yuvaraj in the middle order, we should open with either Sachin or Sourav( normally opening in One dayers with success). Dravid is the match winner and number one batsman in our team, where his position should not be altered( for example Mr. Ponting.

India should go in with the positive frame of mind atleat for a good show.I think Yuvaraj should make the way for Mr.Sehwag. Dhoni should prove himself in Australia with the good scores as he look very ordinary with his batting effort.

Spot on Mukul. I think Indians hyped it all up by talking a lot and not following the words with actions. There is no place for empty threats and one player who should really keep his mouth shut is Harbajhan Singh. Good article.

Indians bungled from the very beginning of this match, by making bad selection and bad choice of openers and bowlers. Sehwag who has great record against Aussies was kept out, for some strange reason and Dravid was made the sacrifical lamb as opener when he has a great record as one down batsman!
Why was Sachin and Sehwag not selected as openers? What has Harbhajan Singh done to be selected and he did not get a single wicket in first innings when Kumble got 5!
Sehwag could well have bowled better than Harbhajan surely and this could have allowed to play another pacer like Ishant Sharma! Hope the selectors rectify their blunders and omit Jaffer and Harbhajan for next match and bring in Sehwag and Sharma as replacements and make Sachin and Sehwag open the innings with Dravid as one down batsman!
But who knows, our team selectors unfortunately bolt the stable only after horses leave, so any thing is possible!

Mr. Kesavan is bang on. Even our past great Mr. Gavaskar - in his last days of professional carreer came in 2 down. And here we are asking Mr. Dravid - in his last phase of profesional career - to move up the order and that too when he is going thru a lean period. If we need to honour that quintessential selfless team-man Mr. Dravid - it is appropriate we move him down the order until he gets his touch back.

Sir
I think you have hit the nail right on the head particularly on the matter of team selection. In my humble opinion the selection was not only flawed it was bereft of any logic. It seems that we select sides based on popularity rather than the age old policy of Horses for Courses. And worse, in the process we disturb a batting order which had been doing well consistently. Can anyone explain why a player of Rahul Dravid's class and stature should sacrifice his most productive batting slot for someone who has only played a handful of test matches and that too without much to rave about? Or, why a man who had been one of the pillars of India's impressive show down under, four years ago was left out for someone who has nothing to show against the same opposition? If Yuvraj was such a hot contender he should have been included in the side as an opener(which was the only position up for grabs) and not at the expense of great players like Dravid and Laxman.India will do good to avoid 4-0.

Accept the fact that we lost it anyway.Drop Yuvaraj,Harbajan,Jaffer.Bring Irfan,Ishnat,Pankaj,Sehwag.This tall bowlers can hit the deck hard in Australian surface.

It is not fair to blame dravid for the debacle.Yes ,he could have gone for his normal game but ,we do not what the instructions were ,but in the second innings,though he scored only 16,he has seen to it that new ball is tamed.as you have rightly said, he is the best at one down & why tinker his position? ponting never opens .Ther is a psychological angle.Even if you come second ball as one down, it is different from opening an innings.We are killing a hen laying golden eggs.The next test should have sehwag in place of yuvraj & dravid restored his right place,if india is interested in redeeming themselves.MUKUL ,ONE POINT YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN TO MENTION THAT IF DRAVID FAILS TEAM INDIA FAILS TOO.THERE IS NO REASON FOR OTHER PLAYERS TO HAVE FAILED AS THEY CLAIM TO BE IN FORM.

Yeah we lost becauz of UV, this is the best a south indian can say. Mukul, Why are you so biased. You single out harbhajan and yuvi for the whole crap india produced. Perhaps it's the punjab connection which you don't like. I agree they are not the force to be reckon with abroad, but what about dravid, jaffer ...what did they do which uv and bhajji failed to do, infact bhajji was better than most of the bowlers second time. and what did ur laxman do, atleast he got a start both times. It was a complete team failure, and because of stupid journalist like you people will be led to believe that a single player of particular state has brought the downfall. Whole of your article had a sense of vendetta for the backlash you got at the hands of cricket fans for your earlier nonsense piece of writing. You were just waiting for yuvraj's failure and we know that soon u'll start crying about badrinaths, or venugopal rao's., as if they played in Perth for whole of their life. U r a loser M. Keswan

Yes Dravid as an Opener is destroying the confidence of Indian Bowlers, who had done the hard work by removing Australia below 400. Indian line up is not getting the start what they needed now. If one of the opening batsman give a good start at least having a strike rate of 50+ then the other one can stable his innings..Dravid is spent force

India needs to play with the genuine opener like Sehwag / Karthik and leave out Yuvraj from the playing 11. Also they should have included Murali Karthik, who has performed extremely well against Australians in the recent ODI series.

I agree with Mukul. Too much importance has been given to Yuvraj's inclusion by media , the team management had no choice but to alter the batting order just to accomodate him. Yuvraj deserve to be the first choice when any one of the present 4 gets injured ( like in Bangalore when sachin didn't play) .Otherwise he has to wait.THAT'S IT.
I hope common sense prevails atleast now for team selection in 2nd test.
By the way when was the last time Bajji really bowled well !!!.Even in last PAK series he didn't look threatening at all.He is more of an liability than an asset to the team with his loose talk (on Hogg's inclusion). Promplty he got out to Hogg in 1st innings and to avoid repetition ran himself out in 2nd innings.
It came no surprise that Tendulkar in both innings got out to poor shot selection as he has lost his touch to play a long and responsible test innings of late ( more of one day mode)

The article hits the bull's eye !!
First and foremost, drop Pathetic Yuvraj and End Misery of Dhoni by sending them back home, where they will do what they do best, modeling for products!!! Get some real talent in the team cause when the fab. four depart( Sachin, Sourav, VVS,Dravid along with spin twins- there is no one left. apart from maybe Zaheer(who needs to maintain better discipline) and to an extent Wasin Jaffer.

THE ONLY CONSISTENCY I SAW-
1. Ganguly and Laxman scoring- too bad no one gave enough support to them in either innings!!!
2. Yuvraj and Dhoni failing- ALL GAS BUT WITHOUT FIRE. impressive car body but no engine...what more can you say.
3. Zaheer's Noballs- he'd become a better bowler if he maintains discipline- why doesn't he talks to Wasim Akram - all type great left arm medium bowler???

Get others like Uthappa and Kaif into the team. I'm sure that our fielding tardiness could be lifted by these livewire fielders.

True, Dravid's batting in both the innings was as mysterious as a Bermuda Triangle and needless to say utterly baffling. How can an experienced batsman of his caliber, who did so wonderfully in the previous tour of Australia, play as he did here? I am really dying to hear some sort of explanation from him for his pathetic display.
Coming to the Yuvraj issue that has rearranged the whole batting line-up, if anything, he should have been asked to open the innings and keep the middle-order arrangement intact. His natural stroke play and positive attitude would had come in handy, given the negative attitude Jaffer. I think, for the next test, they have to take a gamble and rope in Sehwag and open Yuvraj with him. We ought to dump Jaffer as his body language is so weak when he goes out to play, I am still amazed how he made those centuries. Might be another Bermuda Triangle in our Indian Cricket Team's midst?

We are all talking about and blaming Yuvraj, but pray tell me what have the rest of the seniors done,not just the famous four but even guys like Jaffer and Dhoni...we dont expect the Indians to win a series in Australia ( if they do it will surely be commendable) as hardly any team has challenged the mighty Aussies in the recent past...but the least expected from the Indians was to put up a fight. A sub-200 score in both the Innings and that too in conditions supposedly similar to our own is really appalling...The only thing fans like us can do ... "pray that they dont loose 4-0".

Well, this was meant to be the last chance for Australian Test crowds to see the Big Three in action. Dravid was out of his depth; he's hopelessly out of form and was tied down, which handed the Australians the initiative after India's bowlers did well to restrict the Australian batting juggernaut. Tendulkar was aggressive at times, but one senses that he was underdone - he will be better in Sydney. Ganguly was in fine fettle, as he has been since his second coming, but gave his wicket away after he had done the hard work. One can excuse his shot in the first innings: he was left with the tail and it is mighty fragile away from India's benign pitches. Let's hope we see some return to the glory days from the Big Three. By the way, where are their replacements? Jaffer didn't even need a Jaffa to get out. What happens to Indian batting once the Big Three depart (hopefully on their own terms)?

To play Dravid is an opener was a mistake and, yes, he should bat down the order until he gets back into form. But, but to play Sehwag as opener would be a huge mistake. Sehwag is woefully out of form. He has performed miserably even in Ranji matches, so to expect him to perform against Australia is asking too much. The team should play Karthik as an opener. He has done well against the moving ball in England and South Africa. He is a much safer bet than hoping that Sehwag can effect a miraculous return to form against the world's best team.

Its a Pity that we are expecting Indians to win Down Under considering that Aussies are Miles and way ahead whan it comes In Sports.Its looks like there are 11 India Software Professionals pitted against 11 Gladiators on Cricket field.A total mismatch.Time has come for us to stop admiring Indian Cricketers and look at other better sports persons who bring laurels for the country.

Fully agree with the views expressed herein it was improper to have overexpectations from Yuvraj Singh to perform at the highest level of test cricket when his game is only suitable for the one day format.We seem to have got carried away with his innings against Pakistan on a dead pitch and a club class bowling attack.It is high time we pull our socks up and get our strategy right or else we may end up being blanked out in the series four nil by an Australian team which is very competitive and proffessional in its approach towards the game.By making short term adjustments the entire balance of the batting order was disturbed and with a defensive mindset of the openers there was much more pressure on those following later to stabilise things around which is not easy against a bowling attack like Australia. May better sense prevail and we pick the right composition which can atleast put up a fight rather than succumbing to the opposition who have us by the cruff of the neck

Indians have always been poor travllers.
Lets hope Sachin digs in and shows his class for the last time to Aussies.

Sunil, should the Aussies prepare pitches to suit the Indians should they? What's the norm in India? Do they prepare pitches to suit the visiting team? Accept the fact you were belted by a better team with a bit more grace my boy...

We can keep on arguing or debating about players opening at a certain spot, bowlers not bowling upto the mark,etc. The FACT is Australia is the best team when it comes to consistency and execution; both home and away in both the forms of cricket - one-dayers and tests.

Bang on Mukul!

I just hope that the selectors get it right in the second test. Drop Yuvraj..Open with Sehwag and Wasim..Drop RP and bring in Pathan would be the way to go..Sehwag can bowl and Pathan can bat so there's protection at both ends

INDIAN 11 FOR SECOND TEST V/S FUTURE TEST 11 OUTSIDE SUB-CONTINENT

1)SEHWAG 1)ROBIN UTHAPPA
2)JAFFER 2)GAUTHAM GAMBHIR
3)DRAVID 3)S.BADRINATH
4)SACHIN 4)YUVRAJ
5)GANGULY 5)SURESH RAINA
6)DHONI 6)DHONI
7)PATHAN 7)PATHAN
8)KUMBLE 8)PIYUSH CHAWLA
9)ZAHEER 9)ZAHEER
10)PANKAJ SINGH 10)PANKAJ SINGH
11)R.P.SINGH 11)R.P.SINGH

Nicely written Mukul. I had the same feeling as you said before the start of the test. At the end that is become true. Yuve is like Bevan. Good one day player and not suited for test level. Now only think India have to do is bring back Karthik or Shewag as an opener. I always feel bad about Dravid when he is asked to do these type of adjustments. Poor Dravid

Well said Mukul.

It's been long said that messing with the top order is a cardinal sin, especially when the movement to bring in another player fails when that player does not perform.

ultimator, btw, Tendulkar's average against the countries you mentioned away from home is definitely higher than what you said as "mid-twenties".

The stats show that Tendulkar averages:

52.66 v Australia
39.76 v South Africa
41.50 v New Zealand

and against England, an average of 62.

I didn't rate Tendulkar highly enough before this test match, but seeing from his performance with the bat, i'd class him as one of the best after Bradman.

Regarding the opening batsmen, i believe their must be a change. Having two similar batsmen at the crease can be detrimental to the team, especially if their style is defensive. The bowlers toiled too hard for the batters to destroy it.

I've said this before and I'll say this again. This team lacks the aggressiveness required to play the Aussies. Do you think Kumble would have declared on the 3rd day with 500 to get in 2 days if Aussies were to bat last? NO. There is no way any Indian captain would have declared. Why you ask? All they want to do is save their own asses. What they don't realize is that you need to be aggressive to beat Aussies at home.
Ganguly is the only player that I admire as a captain. Well, he was shrewed, and if what chappell said is true, was not a good man. But he was aggressive and thats what will win you matches.
What can I say about Dravid, I just don't want to say anything.
Overall, I was happy to see it end in 4 days. At least I was right when I told my colleagues you can never win matches by defending. If we were a little aggressive, we might have lost by a lesser margin and gone in to the Sydney test with good hope. I can only imagine what the team is thinking now.

I think India is not going to make 300 runs in any tests. The Result will be 4-0 unless weather helps India in one of the match

I dont think it is fair to single out Yuvi after a failure in single test. Rahul has been performing below par in the last few series' and IMO Dravid opening the batting was a ploy to accomodate Dravid and not Yuvraj( as the article points out). Before someone starts going on about Rahul's previous exploits in AUS...I would like to point out that the last tour success could be attributed to the fact the aussie bowling lacked zing during the previous tour with a half-fit lee and gillespie and a bunch of ordinary medium pacers as support.Brad Williams, Andy Bichel and Nathan Bracken at their best can be termed as average. He was also helped by some pathetic bowling by Mcgill. Rahul has been a failure during the 1999 series against a full fledged Aussie attack and continue to be the same unless bowlers feed him with some leg side half-volleys. I dont see that coming from anybody in the current Aussie setup. My line up would be replace Dravid with sehwag and retain the same 11.

Though cricket channel told us about scaores made in 4th innings, this did not indicate how many overs were played by tems playing in the 4th innings of a Test.

After the conclusion of the first Test,most of us Indians would have said : " There,we go again..." Unfortunately,it has been happening a bit too often to go unnoticed.The crux of the matter being that a dominating team like Australia needs to be ruffled at the very start of a series and I believe India missed a trick or two by not playing Sehwag at the MCG.Dravid's mindset as an opener is fairly similar to that of Jaffer and after having allowed Aussie bowlers to dictate terms,we simply played into their hands and left ourselves a mountain to climb with all the good work done by the rather 'decent' bowling attack going down the drain.I just hope the team think-tank gets its selections right for Sydney and all is not lost yet ...

What a bunch of losers....they can just talk abut aggression but once on the field the so called greatest batsmen of India with averages in the 40s and 50s are like 'cats on a hot tin roof'. Scoring 20-odd runs against Australia is seeming so difficult. They have been outclassed in batting, bowling and fielding and how the hell can one expect them to come even close to winning a test against the very professional aussies. I feel really sorry for the bowlers, Anil is giving his all, Zaheer and RP have done well, Tendulkar, ganguly & Laxman will show their class for a few minutes.....the superstars (Dhoni & Yuvi) will be stripped naked of their egos and sent home in shame. If Dravid does not perform this series then it should be his swan song. Bring on the youngsters like uthappa, even if India still lose atleast we can see someone 'really' showing aggression against the aussies on the field rather than just all that stupid banter in the press.

Mukul, agree with you completely. I think we lost it with the "Dravidian crawl" in both innings. MY team for Sydney would be: Jaffer (better buck up!), Sehwag, Laxman, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Dhoni, Kumble, Zaheer, RP, Ishant/ Harbajan.

dravid is at his best at no 3 position
india needs genuine opener who is sehwag
yuvi is great odi player but he has no place in current test squad

It does not matter what we do with our batting orders or who we select. We are destined for a 4-0 white wash. We simply do not have it to put it across the Australian team. This is not a 20/20 cricket. This game needs determination, consistency, committment and the list can go on for a sustained period of time on & off the field over the 5days and beyond. Now if we sit back and look at these aspects in reference to the two teams I guess it is not too difficult to get the answer. Hence I recommend we do not talk about north indians and south indians and ridicule ourselves. Just accept the 4-0 as a matter of fact and enjoy our holiday period and probably highlight some good things about the Australian team to our kids.

Its sad how India played; all the pre-match talk have put us Indians the target of constant taunting by fellow Australians here in Melbourne and will for sure follow us through out the series unless Kumble and Co. produce something sensational. I request the Indian team that please please make their bats and ball do the talk. I never thought I would appreciate how Pakistan batted after each time India scored 600+ scores and able to draw the matches. All those individual scores of 200s & 100s against Pakistan on lifeless pitches with no results are to be blamed, we need to make competitive wickets back home so that when our players come to Aus or SA they shouldn’t hold the bat as if some one has forced them to go in the middle of the action. Once again Kumble played very well and truly led from the front but unfortunately couldn’t lift everyone around him.

Why in the world have they dropped Karthik? He played well against a good pace attack in England. A couple of low scores and he is out...the stability just isnt there. And Dravid only averages 30-something as an opener, so it was never going to work the way India wanted it too.

Its again a match which India gave without a fight.... True non proffesionalism from the part of selectors, by sending two defensive batsmen to open an innings were the picth only favoured bowlers who quickly sets to their line and lenght. But it was so pathetic to see the same people opening the second innings were the only solution is a result and get it on our way we need some sort of aggression. Thats why this match is rated as a given off match by the pity indian team.... hats off to Dada... Who played his innings and showed others that if you want to make a game ..... you con.... if you dont want..... you cannot...
Come on guys, we are playing against the best team in the game... Would like to request the Indian Team..... Please fight for us. Come on You can loose a game or two.... but please..... do not give up like