One has to admire the meticulous planning and execution by the Australians against every team and under every kind of condition.

Once upon a time, slow and low wickets were not favorable to their sides. Many sub-continental teams thrived by capitalising on the slowness of the wickets. The Australians are constantly learning and plugging every loophole. They seldom commit the same mistake a second time.

When I watched the one-day series against India recently, I could tell that they were trying out new strategies. Bowling on a line at the stumps and tightening up the fielding is one method that seems to have succeeded on the slow wickets. Though Brad Hogg appears to be a great spinner, it is not his skill that is effective here. It is the pressure the batting team is already under before he comes on that projects such a feeling.

'The Australians are constantly learning and plugging every loophole. They seldom commit the same mistake a second time'


In the Boxing day Test, the Aussies applied what they had learned. The first thing was shock treatment: Lure the Indian batsmen into believing that the wicket looked just like any in India. Then deny them runs by bowling ultra tight. Back it up with brilliant fielding. The end result left no room for any experimentation on the Indian side. They stayed patiently and waited. The Indian batsmen dug their own graves.

Also the team played a number of psychological tricks - lack of match practice, who would open the innings, this is a slow track just like any in India, and so on. The attention was completely shifted in the wrong direction. On top of that, it was made out as though India would have to rely entirely on their batting strength. Everything proved wrong.

Firstly, they crowded round the Indian batsmen and did not let the openers settle down. That tactic was good enough to unsettle the entire batting line up. Brilliant game plan and execution.

Being world champions does not necessarily mean having great players in the team. It is the strategy and leadership that counts the most. This Indian batting line-up should have been capable of taking apart this Australian bowling attack. But it was never allowed to. In the end, even a mediocre spinner like Brad Hogg looked like a genius. If Stuart MacGill had been playing, the defeat would  have been heavier.

Unfortunately, this Indian team isn't young. Several players are about to retire. There are not enough youngsters who could have used this experience to learn and master.

The moral of the story is this. The Australians have now become invincible even on sub-continental wickets. Now they will work on their only weakness - developing world class spinners on a consistent basis. Somehow I get the feeling that Ricky Ponting's Australian team will be even better than Clive Lloyd's West Indies team.

Ponting's Australians have taken the game a level or two higher. It will be tough to catch up with them. Teams might beat them once or twice. But in the long run, on a consistent basis, the Australians are going to dominate world cricket. I do not see much chance for the Indian team for the rest of the series.

I don't blame the players. They are fatigued and over-worked. There is intense pressure on them. It might be a  good idea to fire the Indian cricket board administrators. They have become dead weights, busy with their own elections, bureaucracy and so on. None of them ever thought of a good schedule for their team.

They inserted a lackluster Pakistan series without giving the players any break. India could have played maybe a one-off test with Pakistan and gone earlier to Australia and adjusted to the conditions there. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure this out. India's performance is the result of an inept and useless cricket board. Hopefully Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble will salvage some pride for India in this series.