It is totally a different ball game Down Under

 India need to play to it's strength in the upcoming series against Australia in January 2016 where it is scheduled to play three T20's and Five ODI series before the WorldT20 Finals in India in March.

The last match it played down under was the semi-final of the World Cup 2016, which India lost to Australia by a huge margin. 

233 was India's reply to Australia's 328/7.  Though India managed to pick early wickets in that match but could not stop Steve Smith from scoring a hundred that helped Australia score a huge total.

If we take a look at Australia's batsmen playing in Australia's grounds you can observe their fluency of strokes.

It comes from sheer reading of the pitch conditions in Australia, which are quite similar in places like Hobart and Melbourne. If you hit the deck hard at these grounds you are in position of extracting that little element of surprise which can get you a wicket.

Bowling in Indian conditions and on Indian wickets is a different proposition, here our conditions early in the morning are different than in the afternoon and also the pitch plays differently during the day. Spin friendly tracks don't offer much bargain.

But in Australia the bowlers can extract something out of the placid tracks if you hit the deck hard and maintain line and length.Melbourne is such an example, the ball after hitting the deck plays differently than in the subcontinental conditions. 

Indian batsmen expect the ball come to them fast but the bounce is different to that of the Indian pitches, that offsets the technique of many an Indian batsmen except a few like Kohli and Vijay who adjusted well against the likes of Mitchell Johnson.

Many Indian batsmen performed very well in Australian conditions worth mentioning Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. 

Laxman had that ability to play it on the rise, negate the bounce of the ball with wristy strokes, that very few can play. When wrists come into play it becomes a headache for the bowler to set the field for the batsmen.

Indian batting and bowling should be according to the conditions in Australia when playing in Australia. 

India need the bowlers who can hit the deck hard while maintaining the line and length. Ashok Dinda comes to my mind, his bowling actions is quiet distinct and he could derive bargain out of  pacy wickets like the ones in Australian conditions, I think.  

Umesh Yadav and Aaron they both are qutie similar, bowling fast, they are not going to bother the Australian batsmen much who would like the ball to come on to the bat. Especiall with players like Smith who would want to smack the ball out of the ground, the bowlers could do little to stop the stroke play from such batsmen.

Instead the team needs bowlers who can bend the back hit the deck hard like James Pattinson is doing in against the West Indies. Mitchell Johnson was clever enough to use the conditions to his liking, he even used to hit the deck hard, even though he bowled to a sling shot action.

In Australia if the bowlers are just going to run in and bowl fast, it is probably the batters gonna hit each delivery as powerfully as possible for maximum runs.

eValleyz.Blog

India should devise a strategy, game plan ahead of the ODI/T20 2016 tour of Australia

India is touring Australia in January 2016 where it is slated to play five ODI's and three T20's.

National Selectors are meeting in Delhi to pick up the squad. India lost T20's as well as ODI series on the last tour. I would not argue on the team composition, because most of the players pick themselves on their past experience and their present form by a margin. There is no doubt about that.

The thing I don't like is, Indian team doesn't plays to its full potential from game one, be it a T20 International or One Day International.

The team should play to it's full potential, that doesn't mean our bowlers are mercilessly used and tiring them off, but clever use of conditions. In Australia I have seen India team improving year on year, but the goal should be to win each game at a time. Convert the away series into wins. 

I think training camp should be held at venues in India which offer similar conditions to that of Australia, like say at Mohali or Dharamshala or any fit venue for the purpose especially for the youngsters, new comers in the team so that they are fine tuned from the game one and play to their full potential.

Players should take this opportunity to excel in away conditions, and devise such a plan and strategy to counter pace and bounce in the batting department, as well as studying the nuances of sticking to line and length in the bowling department, which promise dividends to players on any given Australian tour.

Australia extracts more from their agility and fire power on and off the field in Australian conditions, it suits their overall physical abilities on any given day, but the tourists too could make up to the hosts by training and devising a strategy, plan to counter the Australian onslaught.

 Valleyz.Blog