Refreshed India eye positive beginning
Cricket One-dayers: World Champs face Oz in opening tie of tri-series
Five years ago, India produced a stunning effort to win the triangular series in Australia after an acrimonious Test series. Now Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men find themselves in a somewhat similar situation. 
Australia battered India into submission for a 4-0 win in the Test series, and the visitors now need to atone for that in the upcoming tri-series, also involving Sri Lanka. India will have to take the first step towards that on Sunday, when they take on Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
India had registered their first win on this tour Down Under on Friday when they muscled their way to an eight-wicket win over Australia in the second T20 to level the series at the MCG. They now have the arduous task of carrying on the confidence into the one-day series, and dish out consistent cricket against two tough and contrasting sides.
After a few modest outings in the recent past, including a quarterfinal exit in the World Cup, Australia seemed to have found their range under new skipper Michael Clarke, under whom they have emerged winners in the one-day series against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Africa to retain the No 1 ranking in the ICC ratings.
They now have an exciting mix with some young players like Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Marsh, Matthew Wade and David Warner stepping in to support the old guard consisting Clarke, his predecessor Ricky Ponting and Brett Lee.
After the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lanka are no longer the force of the old, relying heavily on old warhorses Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene — who has taken over captaincy from Tillakaratne Dilshan after the series against South Africa — for runs and Lasith Malinga for wickets.
But they too have a few young names in Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Matthews and Lahiru Thirumanne who are fast maturing at the highest level.
In that scenario, it can safely be said that India have the most balanced side in the competition, and they will be bolstered by the return of Sachin Tendulkar. The tri-series will be Tendulkar’s first one-day assignment after the World Cup final against Sri Lanka in Mumbai and the Little Master will get an extended opportunity here to complete that elusive 100th international hundred.
Beyond those numbers, Tendulkar’s presence will be invaluable for India as he was the only batsman who looked in some sort of rhythm during a disastrous Test series. Besides that his presence at the top will work as a calming influence on Virender Sehwag, who has been going through a sequence of forgettable scores recently.
India will also take confidence from the fact that Gautam Gambhir, another batsman who has been struggling for big runs, showed signs of coming back to his best while notching up an unbeaten half-century against Australia in the second T20 here on Friday.
The younger brigade that includes the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Suresh Raina and Irfan Pathan, have proved their expertise in the 50-over format a number of times and they will be eager to cash in on the chance to further impress the selectors.
The T20 match here showcased the value of adding more youngsters to the side, and the energy they brought on to the field with them was unmistakable. Normally adept in converting singles into twos, the Australians struggled against a set of alert fielders and ended up with a below-par score of 131. Youth and experience combined well for India on the day and they have to play consistent and confident cricket from here on to stay ahead of their opponents.
Squad (from): India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Umesh Yadav,I rfan Pathan, R Vinay Kumar, Rahul Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, Parthiv Patel.
Australia: Michael Clarke (capt), David Warner, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Wade, Daniel Christian, Xavier Doherty, Peter Forrest, Mike Hussey, David Hussey, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Starc, Clint McKay, Brett Lee, Mitchell Marsh.
Timing: 8.50 am IST.
Feb 5 Australia vs India 8:50 am Melbourne
Feb 8 India vs Sri Lanka 9:50 am Perth
Feb 10 Australia vs Sri Lanka 9:50 am Perth
Feb 12 Australia vs India 8:50 am Adelaide
Feb 14 India vs Sri Lanka 8:50 am Adelaide
Feb 17 Australia vs Sri Lanka 8:50 am Sydney
Feb 19 Australia vs India 8:50 am Brisbane
Feb 21 India vs Sri Lanka 8:50 am Brisbane
Feb 24 Australia v Sri Lanka 8:50 am Hobart
Feb 26 Australia vs India 8:50 am Sydney
Feb 28 India vs Sri Lanka 8:50 am Hobart
Mar 2 Australia v Sri Lanka 8:50 am Melbourne
Mar 4 I final: TBC vs TBC 8:50 am Brisbane
Mar 6 II final: TBC vs TBC 8:50 am Adelaide
Mar 8 III final: TBC vs TBC* 8:50 am Adelaide
(Note: Third final only if neccessary. All timings in IST).
