Individuals cannot see India through

JANUARY 1: The series is lost and India only have pride and the future to play for. Some players will be worried about their personal futu...

JANUARY 1: The series is lost and India only have pride and the future to play for. Some players will be worried about their personal future with good reason, but I think it8217;s time the Indian players started to think more of what lies ahead for the team. One of the fundamental differences between the two teams is that Australia play very much as a team, while India are a bunch of individuals playing in the same colours.

It was symptomatic of what ails Indian cricket when on the evening that Sachin Tendulkar made a classic Test century, a large group of fans gathered at the team hotel to pay homage to their hero. There is nothing wrong with hero worship, but there should also have been some concern that the team was in trouble. Tendulkar is so competitive that a continuation of the disappointing performances by the team will start to weigh very heavily on his shoulders. At the moment I would say he has competitive allies in Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Ajit Agarkar. Then the intensity dropsaway.

Tendulkar said this tour was to be the commencement of a tougher era in Indian cricket. There have been times when India has played up to those expectations. But the standard has often slipped and that8217;s when Australia stepped in and landed the knock out blow. Australia were in a similar predicament when it toured India and yet found the resolve to win the final Test in Bangalore. India have to dredge up similar mental strength at the SCG; or else there is every chance they will be steam rolled.

The inexperienced Agarkar showed at the MCG what has to be done to play Australia on equal terms. He stood toe to toe with Steve Waugh and looked him squarely in the eye before he eventually stared down the skipper and won the battle. This attitude will not always result in winning the war, never mind overcoming Waugh, but it will send the message that India are no pushovers. Enough success in those individual battles is the only way to have the Australians begin to doubt themselves, rather than the currentsituation where they storm in like Vikings, perform the cricket equivalent of rape and pillage and then move on to celebrate the spoils.

There is no doubt this is a good Australian side. It has been enhanced by the arrival of Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee and Steve Waugh has definitely found his feet as skipper since clinching the World Cup. Waugh is a tough Test cricketer and as captain he has been able to instil in his side the confidence to perform in a like manner. This extra resolve has allowed the team to escape a number of tight corners this summer and they have now done it often enough to start contemplating invincibility.

There is only one way to beat a really good cricket team and that is to attack. When the West Indies were at their peak in the late seventies and into the eighties, it was no good sitting back waiting for them to make mistakes, because they rarely obliged. The problem is that most teams looked at the West Indies and saw an aura instead of eleven human beings and they immediatelybegan to think of a draw as a good result. That is the first step to defeat and India took a pace in that direction early at the MCG.

There is no easy way back against Steve Waugh8217;s team, as they have to be defeated, because they won8217;t beat themselves. It is going to take a very good team effort from India to win at the SCG and the moment the task is left to a few dedicated individuals, the match will be lost.