Indian cricket chief eyes revenge at home

NEW DELHI — India's cricket chief gave a robust defence of the national team yesterday after the humiliating Test losses in Australia, saying players would soon set the record straight on home soil.

"Australia played better in their home conditions, it will be different when they come to India," Narayanaswamy Srinivasan, President of the under-fire Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said.

"New Zealand is coming to India next and that will be followed by England and Australia. We will beat these three teams on our own soil. They cannot beat us here and we will feel very happy," he told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Australia smashed India by an innings and 37 runs inside three days in the third Perth Test on Sunday to clinch the four-match series, after winning in Melbourne by 122 runs and Sydney by an innings and 68 runs.

It was India's seventh successive Test loss abroad, following their 4-0 rout in England last year, in a dismal run that has taken the shine off their limited-overs World Cup victory at home last April.

Srinivasan, who owns the Chennai Super Kings franchise in the Indian Premier League, cited the example of India's 5-0 rout of England in a one-day series last October.

"England won in England, but they came here within a month and lost 5-0," he said.

"After our loss in England, I had said we will beat them when they visit India. That's what happened."

India are not due to play an overseas Test series until the tour of South Africa in late 2013 and the next home series against New Zealand in September is still eight months away. — AFP