Obeservations that VVS made

In a TV interview today, there were two important observations that VVS Laxman made about the track, and the situation at Sydney.

First, he felt that the pitch will have lots of spin on fourth and fifth days and, so, India will have to ensure a big score in their first innings. Already in Australia's first innings, Kumble and Harbhajan got lot many balls to turn and even Hogg turned quite a few, he said.

Second, unlike the pitch at Melbourne, the bounce at Sydney was relatively even because of which he (Laxman) was able to play pull shot so freely. So it should not be too difficult for the Indian batsmen, including Tendulkar and Ganguly – the seasoned batsmen on the crease.

Meanwhile, Australia coach Tim Nielson believes that the match is evenly poised and as the new ball is due after 18 overs on Friday, the first session will be extremely critical for both the teams.

Of course, it will be worth getting up seven hours from now, (Five AM IST) to watch how the 1st session unfolds.

Even if they are unable to take the lead, India will need at least 200 runs more in the 1st innings to put Australia under pressure on a spinning track and hope for the repeat of Adelaide four years ago. In that match, Australia had collapsed in the second innings after taking a small first innings lead of 33, leaving India with a target of 230, which they achieved with four wickets to spare.

With 270 overs still to go, it is anybody’s game. Unless, of course, there is an inspirational spell by someone from the Australian side tomorrow morning, resulting in over 100 lead for the Aussie. That could be a decisive lead on this track for a team batting third.

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