Confident India eye historic breakthrough in Sydney
today’S Match
sydney — The New Year’s Test has more often than not been a sundrenched celebration of Australian cricketing domination but this year it looms as a desperate scrap to prevent India from finally exerting their superiority Down Under.
The last time a touring party turned up at the Sydney Cricket Ground with a Test series still up for grabs was in the 20102011 Ashes and, eight years on, there was a similar “fin de siecle” feeling about the place on Wednesday.
Then, Australia had already relinquished the Ashes on home soil for the first time in a quarter of a century and their hopes of a series-levelling win were shattered by England’s rampant bowling attack in an innings and 83-run defeat.
On Thursday, India will embark on a bid to end 70 long years of fruitless attempts to win a Test series in Australia from a similar position of strength, 2-1 up with one to play after
> Australia vs India Fourth Test (at Sydney)
3:30AM (UAE TIME)
a crushing victory in Melbourne.
India’s fortunes have also been built on the back of disciplined pace bowling against fragile home batting and they take their advantage to the one ground in Australia which has traditionally favoured their strongest suit — spin bowling.
India reversed their decision Wednesday to rule out top spinner Ravichandran Ashwin from the fourth Test against Australia, with pace spearhead Ishant Sharma missing from their 13-man squad.
Indian officials had earlier told reporters Ashwin had not recovered from an abdominal strain that has kept him out of the last two Tests, and skipper Virat Kohli said the offspinner was “very disappointed” to miss the final match of the series.
Kohli rarely betrays anything but the greatest confidence and Wednesday’s traditional captain’s press conference was no exception.
Kohli, whose single century in the series alone betters the entire Australia effort, took questions about where a series triumph would rank in his own glory-filled career as well as in the annals of his country’s cricketing history.
This was not about making history, he said, more about proving that a team already ranked number one in the world in Tests could do the business on the rock hard wickets of Australia as well as the slow, brown pitches of home.
“The reason why we want to win this Test is because we understand as cricketers how difficult it is to come here and play,” he said.
“Every team that comes here wants to win, obviously. I’m sure that they would have had the same intention, but the motivation has never been to change history. —