Second-string India take on high-strung Aussies

The Onus to redeem the No.1 tag for Australia will be on out-of-form Clarke.

With pacer Praveen Kumar the obvious instigator and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja a clear victim,the younger members of the Indian team were seen indulging in some leg-pulling on Tuesday morning. And since they were sitting in the temporary tent propped up at the practice ground to keep the sun off their backs with the scenic terrain playing up the background,they resembled a boisterous bunch of college-boys out on a picnic.

After having been confined to biding their time in the hotel and watching the grim skies in Kochi,none of the members in the home team,however,really seemed to mind the heat or the humidity here,as they went through their practice routines at the Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.

Not only have seven of the frontline members of the side been rested for this ODI series,skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has already indicated that India will not be playing with a full-strength squad until the one-dayers in South Africa,their last assignment before the World Cup. And the likes of Murali Vijay,Shikhar Dhawan,Saurabh Tiwary and Ravichandran Ashwin will be well aware that the next seven ODIs on Indian soil,including the five against a beleaguered New Zealand outfit later this year,will be the best chance to enhance their credentials leading up to the marquee event. With the weather having played foul with one such opportunity already at Kochi,they will be more than keen to make the most of the second ODI against Australia on Wednesday.

On the other hand,there has hardly been anything to cheer about for the Australians ever since they landed in India around a month ago. A 2-0 drubbing to boot,most of their batsmen and bowlers were seen struggling with form and fitness during the Test series. And though stand-in skipper Michael Clarke has managed to exude a rather buoyant exterior both times he has dealt with the media on either side of the previous weekend,he has been one of the many players under the pump back home for the teams recent performances.

But the onus is now on the 29-year-old middle-order batsman to redeem at least some pride for Australia from this tour. Australia are still rated the No. 1 team in ODIs,despite their freefall to fifth in the Test rankings,and there will be little margin for error with the series reduced to just two games now.

With the two in-form batsmen from the Tests,skipper Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson having flown back to rest for the Ashes,Clarke,with poor returns of 35 runs in four innings,will also have to spearhead his teams inexperienced batting line-up.

I will try my best to score as many runs as possible in the two games here. If I dont succeed then at least I will try my best with the ball and in the field, said a rather apprehensive Clarke,who did seem to have his mind on the historic clash next month,mistakenly referring to his opposition here as England rather than India once on Tuesday.

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While Dhoni already has spoken about giving state-mate Tiwary a deserved break into the final XI,opener Dhawan looks set for his ODI debut on Wednesday. And with the hosts preparing to go in with four bowlers,the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli,who bowled a long spell in the nets,might well have to turn their arm over to complete the fifth bowlers quota.

Bollinger doubtful

Meanwhile,Doug Bollinger still remains an uncertainty,which might well lead to Australia giving 20-year-old fast bowler,Mitchell Starc,his ODI cap.

Asked about his happy memories at the VDCA Stadium,Dhoni had revealed how the stadium had improved each time he made a visit here and also about expecting one of his team mates to end up with a special performance on Wednesday. And while the youngsters in the Indian team will be hoping that they do live up to their captains aspirations and stake their respective claims before the seniors return; Australia will be desperate that their young team does manage to bolster their flagging fortunes in their two remaining outings in India.

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