http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 - an insight
Both India and Australia are perhaps the only two teams in the world of cricket, who are on their way to seek redemption after falling from the top in the cricketing universe.
India, who are the reigning World Champions in the 50-over game, lost their first place ranking in Test cricket this year, when the summer of 2011 turned out to be their worst sun tanning tour of England.
The Indians, who had just won the International Cricket Council (http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625) World Cup 2011, went to England, hoping to subdue the English hosts with utter ease. But instead were incinerated by the Poms, who thrashed a humiliating defeat of 4-0 in the Test series,
preventing the hosts from winning a single match.
If that humiliation was not enough, India failed to win a single match in the one-day series, which forced them to come back to face hostile Indian fans, after giving such a lethargic performance.
The England ghost still haunts Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men and even after giving a commendable performance against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760, the Indians are yet to restore pride while playing on foreign lands.
The Indians, have a major problem up their sleeves as they have world class batsmen, who are reduced to sitting ducks when playing away tournaments.
While they are unbeatable on home wickets, they barely cause a difference elsewhere.
This is one problem which was brutally exploited by England coach http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Flower-c44362, who made sure not to leave a thread of pride in the Indian team once the tour was over.
India, now have another Goliath ahead in the form of Australia, who are a ferocious outfit especially in their own backyard.
In the absence of strike bowler, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Z-Khan-c98379 and all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who are injured, the Indian side will have to gamble with new faces to stand against the Aussies.
This is surely going to be a pressure series for Dhoni, who is still facing criticism from many in India because of the England debacle.
On the other hand, ace batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Tendulkar-c2556 seems to have taken his 100th century to the heart, as the batting maestro is failing to reach the milestone.
The batsman is just one century away from achieving ultimately immortality in cricket books, but this single century seems to have become the most tiring for him.
On the other hand, Australia are also under pressure, but perhaps in Australia they don’t deject their cricketers after one bad series like people in the subcontinent do.
The Australian team is nearly a shadow of its former self; however, it is steadily improving, series by series.
Australia’s hour of reckoning came just before the 2011 World Cup, when they were defeated in the Ashes series by the English, and later lost their World Cup title, which wrecked havoc in Cricket Australia and an immediate face lift was initiated.
The first casualty was skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Clarke-c1978, however, the veteran is still playing in the national side as he believes there is still little cricket left in him.
The four-match Test series between the two sides scheduled to begin from December 26, 2011 is expected to attract fans from all over the world.
Both teams are expected to give each other a cutthroat challenge as pride is at stake and are banking to redeem their lost stature in the world of cricket by winning the series.
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