New Delhi: Twelve out of the 20 Australian wickets to fall in Mohali were at the hands of the Indian spinners. So the Aussies took the cue and went to one of India's spin legends to help them out. Bishan Singh Bedi was at their practice session on Sunday.
The presence of Bishan Singh Bedi at the Australian camp may have raised a few eyebrows. But it clearly proved that the Australians have been rattled by India's spin bowling prowess in the Mohali Test. Bedi spent just under an hour with the visitors at Ferozeshah Kotla to help the Aussies cope with the turning ball. Continue reading below
"This is an art which is international. It's not Indian, or Pakistani, or Australian... But I always say, never underestimate the Aussies," Bedi said after imparting some tips to Australian spinners Jason Krejza and Cameron White.
Not just the spinners but the Australian pace battery were also in action, still trying to how not just how to reverse swing the ball in these conditions but to face it as well. Zaheer Khan proved to be a handful on the morning of the final at Mohali; clearly another concern for the Aussies.
"It's part of the modern day game, to be able to combat that side of the game. So there is emphasis put on owing to a degree to develop a strategy, but I'm very confident that our strategy is good against reverse swing," Hayden says, defending the Australian tactic to attack the Indian pace bowlers.
It's rare to see the Aussies under this kind of pressure. And they certainly need to reassess their gameplan. At this stage, any help, any idea and any experiment is welcome. But the next eight days will tell us how much it would help Australia.
Meanwhile the Indian team, too, practised hard with their focus on winning the Test series at the Kotla itself. And having won the last seven Tests at the venue gives them added confidence.
"It's always nice to come back to this venue. We've had a lot of success here. So we are pretty confident. We always look forward to playing at the Kotla. Hopefully we can wrap it up here, hopefully we can play good cricket here," says Rahul Dravid.
If India go on to win the Kotla Test, they would regain the Border-Gavaskar trophy after four years.
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