India can still spring a few surprises

However, on this occasion fortune favoured Warne as he got a bat pad decision when it appeared that the prime ingredient in obtaining such a dismissal was missing. This gave Warne the wickets of both Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid and he soon added the third leg of the classy triumvirate when he deceived Sourav Ganguly with a wrong-un.

The sight of a few wrong-uns bowled to Ganguly was sure evidence that Warne’s shoulder is in good shape. It was also the delivery that set up what Warne would probably consider his most satisfying wicket as he bowled a series of wrong `uns to MSK Prasad before unleashing a big spinning leg-break which pitched in the rough and the batsman made the mistake of ignoring. It’s been a while since Warne bowled a player around his legs from so wide of the leg stump and this was clear evidence that not only is his shoulder repaired, but also his confidence is fully restored. Warne’s magnificent leg-spin bowling and a miserly effort from Glenn McGrathensured that no Indian batsman was able to dominate. The damning statistics were in the middle-order where all four players got away to a start, but none went on to post the big score required to keep India close to Australia.

A 156-run deficit at the Adelaide Oval is usually terminal, but Javagal Srinath kept India’s hopes alive when he erased the dangerous Michael Slater. This was a more important blow than just an early wicket as Slater’s run rate is such that a big score from him would’ve allowed Steve Waugh to bring forward any thoughts of a declaration. Srinath needs to learn from his dismissal of Slater.

In the first innings he got Greg Blewett early by bringing the batsman forward and he did the same in the second innings in accounting for Slater. That is his length in Australia, but too often in the first innings he pitched short once the shine had gone from the ball.

Once again Ajit Agarkar was unlucky not to take an early wicket and the sight of his consistent out swing with the new ballwould’ve gladdened the heart of coach Kapil Dev. There were also signs that Tendulkar is coming to grips with captaincy in this part of the world and Anil Kumble will also be feeling more at home after seeing how the Australian pitches behave as they start to wear. Kumble is at his best when the bounce is uncertain and it was one such steepling delivery which claimed Justin Langer’s wicket.

There are some more pieces India needs to find to complete the jigsaw puzzle, but there are encouraging signs that suggest the task is not impossible. If they can get a start in the second innings from the openers and if the poor first innings decision so arouses Tendulkar’s competitive spirit to fever pitch, then there is still a chance the Indian side can spring a few surprises on this confident Australian side.