Team India faces 'green' reality at Perth

Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian batsman to have scored a Test century at the WACA. (AP Photo)

PERTH: Had anyone from the Indian contingent taken a five-minute walk from their hotel to the WACA ground on Sunday, they would have been hit by 'green' reality.

The pitch that was being used for Sunday's Big Bash game between Perth Scorchers and Adelaide Strikers had a healthy tinge of green despite it being a T20 tie. The carry to the wicketkeeper was exceptional.

The worrying part for India is that but for the pitch, the entire playing arena, including the square, resembles a shiny green carpet. WACA curator Cameron Sutherland made no bones about the fact that the pitch here would offer plenty of pace and bounce.

"It will play pretty similar to last year against England, where it had a bit of colour and had a bit of grass on it," Sutherland was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald. "It's kind of a different grass we've used over the last couple of years. It's really fine. So even if you leave grass on it and it has a bit of colour in it, it doesn't seam excessively. It just gives a bit to the new ball and then it settles into a pretty good batting wicket," Sutherland added.

It is the kind of wicket that has pace written all over it, and it would need a very brave captain to even contemplate playing a finger spinner here in spite of the bounce.

The last time they had played here - in 2007-08 - India had knocked Australia off their perch at this very ground, long considered to be the home team's fortress. Like Dhoni's boys, Anil Kumble's team too had come to Perth 0-2 down in the series, and pulled one back, thanks to some gritty batting and excellent seam and swing bowling by the likes of RP Singh, Irfan Pathan and Ishant Sharma.

Interestingly, skipper Kumble had been forced to leave out Harbhajan Singh from the XI, not the least for his unsavoury role in the Monkeygate scandal in the previous Test. Even more interestingly, the Aussies had gone in with four pacers but skipper Ricky Ponting had to fall back on part-time spinners Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke in desperation.

This is a different scenario, though. Clarke can hardly be blamed if he takes the all-pace gamble, but it is unlikely that Dhoni will even contemplate doing so.

After checking into their rooms and sleeping off the cross-continent jet-lag, Indian players hit the gymnasium in the evening at the hotel itself.

Coach Duncan Fletcher had a one-on-one with senior pro Rahul Dravid, whose rich vein of form seems to be deserting him in the New Year. Fletcher clearly feels that Dravid's problem stems from his mind rather than lack of technique. Another candidate for coach's attention is Virat Kohli, whose Test career simply refuses to take off.

The 'coffins', will however be opened only on Tuesday as they take a clean break from the game before the third Test gets underway on Friday.

Source: http://timesofindia.feedsportal.com/fy/8at2Etd0VMrXF1Zs/story01.htm

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