CHENNAI, MARCH 5: India have not beaten Australia in six meetings in this southern metropolis. The first Test of the current series, commencing at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday, would appear to give India the opportunity of setting that dubious record straight.India have a lot in their favour: a home crowd, familiar surroundings, a spinner-friendly wicket, a strong batting line-up and a vulnerable opposition. Adding to the Australians discomfiture is the intense heat the city has never staged a Test match that began in March.Even Mohammed Azharuddin, who otherwise rarely takes the media into confidence, opined that ``we have a slight edge.''Azhar was wise in downplaying the Indian advantage knowing India's penchant for committing ``harakiri''.But over the years, there have been several irritating instances when Indian batsmen, through complacency or faulty technique, have gifted wickets to bowlers like, Tattersal, Richie Benaud, Lance Gibbs, Derek Underwood, Iqbal Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed,Phil Edmonds and Pat Pocock on Indian turning tracks to lose the match.This is where the Indians will have to be wary. For, if the Indian spin trio of Anil Kumble, Venkatapathy Raju and Rajesh Chauhan looked at the bald, brown Chepauk strip with obvious glee, so would have Shane Warne. ``He is a good bowler, but we Indians traditionally play spin bowling better than others,'' said Azharuddin on Thursday.As far as Australia is concerned, they have no cause for anxiety on the batting front. But they have enough worries on the lack of form displayed by their bowlers on the tour so far.But Mark Taylor played down this fact as also the defeat at Mumbai and expressed the hope that the two matches had given his bowlers enough time to settle down. Things will improve, he reckoned.Robertson to make debut: Taylor announced their playing eleven after their morning workout and the line-up was along expected lines. While Warne is Australia's trump card, Gavin Robertson, the 32-year-old off-spinner from NewSouth Wales gets his first Test cap on this spinner-friendly track. The seam bowling is in the hands of Paul Reiffel and Michael Kasprowicz.The Indian team management, not unexpectedly, withheld the announcement of the playing eleven till the arrival of the selectors late in the evening.The teamsAustralia: Mark Taylor (captain), Michael Slater, Greg Blewett, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Ian Healy, Paul Reiffel, Shane Warne, Gavin Robertson, Michael Kasprowicz. 12th man: Adam Dale.India (from): Md Azharuddin (captain), Sachin Tendulkar, Navjot Sidhu, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Nayan Mongia, Venkata Sai Laxman, Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble, Venkatapathy Raju, Rajesh Chauhan, Harvinder Singh, Hrishikesh Kanitkar & Debashish Mohanty.Umpires: S Venkataraghavan (India) & George Sharp (England)Third umpire: K Murali (TN).Match referee: Peter van der Merve (South Africa).Hours of play: 10 a.m to 12 noon; 12.40-2.40 p.m; 3-5 p.m
