Having played on surfaces not too far removed from those prevalent back home, the Indians will face their toughest challenge in the third Test beginning at the WACA on Wednesday on a pitch believed to have regained the character that made it such an impregnable Aussie stronghold until the last decade or so.
The WACA has traditionally held the reputation of being bouncy and lightning quick; with the passage of time and the ageing of the square, it shed some of its pace-friendly characteristics, so much so that left-arm spinner Monty Panesar took five wickets on day one of the Ashes Test last summer.
No joy for spinners
Curator Cam Sutherland has promised, however, that this time, there will be no such joy for the spinners. He didn't need to, actually, because the Twenty20 international between Australia and New Zealand last month was more than enough to convince anyone who watched that game that this will be a pacers' paradise.
“I don't think there will be a lot in it for the spinners,” Sutherland said. “It is a much more heavily grassed surface than last year, and I think it will be quick and bouncy, although carry is more the word than bounce.
“We are tending not to get so much vertical bounce, or tennis-ball bounce. We are getting the good carry and skid through off the hard surface that is traditional in Perth. I don't see it being a lot different this time,” added the curator.
Chomping at the bit after the events in Sydney and full of righteous indignation that their record equalling 16th straight Test win wasn't given its due, Ricky Ponting's men will be desperate to stamp their authority in conditions they believe suit them a lot more than they do the Indians. The general consensus is that the Indians are uncomfortable against the short, bouncing ball, but then again, who is?!
Training session
It is increasingly on the cards that Australia will replace left-arm wrist spinner Brad Hogg — wicketless on a wearing fifth-day pitch at the SCG — with express paceman Shaun Tait in a four-pronged pace attack. The Aussies had their first training session at the WACA on Sunday morning.
The Indians, who travelled more than 10 hours to reach Perth from Canberra, will wait for their first look at the pitch on Monday before deciding whether to stick with two spinners, or play Irfan Pathan as the third pace option instead of Harbhajan Singh. They will also deliberate long and hard on how, where and whether to fit Virender Sehwag in the batting line-up.
The Indians left Canberra by road for Sydney early in the morning, then took a noon flight from Sydney that spanned more than five hours, before arriving in the Western Australian capital. India haven't played a Test in Perth since 1991, and only Sachin Tendulkar of this party has played a Test there. Not encouraging signs, but that's the way it is in international cricket these days.
