Over The Top

the top order had led to all kinds of problems for the team.

This time, Kohli’s contribution was relatively meagre, but Cheteshwar Pujara came up with a gem of a century to pull India’s chestnuts out of the woods in the first innings and has held the innings together in the second too going into the fourth day.

That this is a weak Australian team is undoubtedly true. Without Smith and Warner the batting is fragile. None in the current line- up has a record to match these two or are is in the same class.

Yet it must be remembered that playing at home Australia have never been pushovers, whatever the quality of players/ team available. The Indians, particularly, would know this from history.

In 1977- 78, for instance, Australian cricket was ravaged by the Kerry Packer circus and left with a clutch of young and untested players for the series against India led by Bishan Singh Bedi.

The only known faces were skipper Bobby Simpson, who at 42 was called out of retirement to help Australia tide over the crisis, and Jeff Thomson who had opted out of the Packer Series.

India on the other hand were at full strength with Bedi, Chandra, Prasanna, Gavaskar, Vishwanath, Amarnath, Vengsarkar, Kirmani and expectations were high for a series win.

It wasn’t to be. That fiveTest rubber was one of the keenest and most entertaining among the two countries, Australia finally prevailing 3- 2 in a ding- dong battle that had fans in thrall.

Similarly, in 1985- 86, Australian cricket again in a crisis with the simultaneous retirement of Greg Chappell, Rod Marsh, Dennis Lillee and Kim Hughes stepping down as captain. But Allan Border led a team of rookies to thwart the ambitions of Kapil Dev’s powerful Indian side.

Then in 2003- 04, Australia