How would India, Australia fare on neutral turf?

Many Australian fans believe Australia wouldn't have a chance against India anywhere the way they are playing at the moment.

But trust me, Test cricket is mainly played between the ears and it wouldn't take long for this Australian team to gather confidence if conditions suited.

What we do know, from recent experience, is that in Australia, the odds would be heavily stacked in Australia's favour. India does not like playing on the bouncy pitches and doesn't have the quicks to do damage. In India, of course, the Australians have been hopelessly outclassed by the home team in the first two Tests.

Great players and great teams are judged on how they play in other people's backyards. Even though India is thrashing Australia, it has its critics. Every cricket critic in the world comes up with the old line, that India is hopeless away from home. Many Indian fans quickly reply with: ''But how good are you guys when you come to India?'' Only England can come up with a good answer to that one.

But what would happen if Australia and India met away from their home strongholds?

Imagine venues such as Dhaka, Auckland, Colombo, Lahore, Dubai, Lord's, Bridgetown, Johannesburg or Harare.

No doubt the subcontinent countries would favour an Indian result. The turning pitches of Dhaka, Colombo, Lahore and Dubai would play havoc with the psyche of the Australian batsmen. Many of them can't sleep now because of the mental scars Ravichandran Ashwin and co has inflicted.

The Australians' only slim chance in the subcontinent would be in Colombo, where they have a decent record and pitches occasionally favour the quicker bowlers of Australia.

What about Lord's? This famous ground is normally a home away from home for the Australians, who have lost there twice in more than 100 years.

I feel the Australians would smash the Indians there. I cannot see India beating Australia in Johannesburg, either.

Australia has won six Tests from 11 matches, as the bounce suits the quicks and the Australian batsmen. India, on the other hand, has won only once from three outings. India's batsmen have shown they don't like the bounce or pace, so the odds again favour Australia.

The Harare pitch is very similar to Johannesburg and should definitely favour Australia. The altitude at both these venues plays havoc with fast bowlers' fitness. Although the Australian bowlers have had fitness prob- lems, overall their fitness is better han the Indians. So wins to Australia on these venues.

If a match was to be played at Kensington Oval, Barbados, that would be a lot more interesting. This pitch favours the quicks early but gets lower and spins from day three. This venue would be a ripper to decide which is the better team. Australia's record there is four wins from 11 matches - commendable, considering most of the matches were played against the greatest sporting team of all time.

While India has not won a Test match there, I feel its attack would worry the Aussies. India needs to bat first there and bat well to win. I still feel the Australian attack would cause problems, especially if the tide comes in when it bowls. The ball seems to go everywhere when that happens. Don't ask me why; blame the moon.

Playing in Auckland would also be an interesting Test. The Australians have won four matches from seven Tests there, while India has won two from four. Again, batting well in the first innings should help India on that pitch, as it will spin later in the match.

The Australians, of late, have struggled with the swinging ball and Zaheer Khan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar could cause some headaches there. I still think Australia would win, although it's India's best chance of a win outside the subcontinent.

Over the past five years neither Australia nor India has a great record abroad. Australia has won 12 of 30 Tests. India's record is worse - seven from 25 Tests. It is simple really: India should win in the subcontinent, Australia should win playing outside Asia.

The ICC plans to create a world Test championship from 2017. The bad news for Australia is that, odds on, it will be first played in India, no matter what the top two teams are.

Courtesy TheAge Chin music: Sachin Tendulkar has had his successes in Australia, but many Indian batsmen do not like bouncy pitches. Photo: Steve Christo