The way to counter Australians’ short-pitched stuff in one-day cricket is obvious. You need to take it on. The best man to lead Indians in this quest is the great man himself, Sachin Tendulkar.But the little genius seems to have gone into his shell lately. He seems to have shelved his plans on hooking. He is not backing himself enough. He just needs to be far more aggressive and pick up his shot-making ability. It could be he is not watching the ball closely. Generally a player knows what he needs to do and Tendulkar understands what the answer to the present poser from the Australians is.Indians should find Sydney to their liking. It should restore some of their confidence. They have played very well here and this is a kind of wicket which suits their style of game. They looked good in both the games they played at the SCG — the final Test and then the one-dayer which was only won by lee’s heroics with the bat. They should have the confidence of the conditions.I wouldn’t think the season is over. They just need to get themselves sorted out tomorrow. They need the big guns like Virender Sehwag and Tendulkar to give them some sort of start. They need to be positive, right till the last man. Now that the tail has started to perform, they needn’t fear any sudden batting collapses as well.(PTI)
