Rejig away

Mukul Kesavan pens some thoughtful opinions on a possible Indian batting order for the Australian series. While I agree with Mukul in spirit - that an attacking batsman is needed at No.3 - I'm afraid that even I, VVS Laxman Fan Extraordinaire and Defender of the Faith, am not sure that sending VVS to that spot is going to work in the way that Mukul intends. I think that the attacking days of all of the Big Four are over. I haven't seen any of them dominate in tests in a while (the last Indian batsman to play dominating innnings in test cricket was Viru Sehwag). They all remain good, solid bats (and Tendulkar in one-days, on the evidence of this current series against Pakistan remains as good as ever), but I do not think that Australia will be the place where they will suddenly rediscover their aggressive touch. For that reason, I think that if India are to make a match of things in Australia (the reason why Mukul suggests this batting change) it'll have to look to its bowlers and outcricket instead. If India are to win, they'll have to rely on a Trent-Bridge template: bowl Australia out on the first day and then take all the time they need to build up a score that makes the third innings difficult for Australia. India have traditionally not been good at batting hard to take the initiative - the last test match I can remember this happening in was Chennai 1998 on the back of Tendulkar's 155*. So, again, I appreciate and applaud the sentiment behind Mukul's suggestion - that a strokeplayer is required at the three spot, to avoid the possible becalming that awaits us with Jaffer, Dravid and Tendulkar all in the top four. But I'm not sure that VVS has that spirit any more; the one that makes him get on top of bowling attacks, to cut them to shreds with his wrists. As always, I hope to be proven wrong in these matters; these are the sorts of predictions one loves to get wrong.