On Wednesday, India coach John Wright walked into the M A Chidambaram stadium an hour before his any of wards. He sat in the dressing room and then had a look at the pitch before limbering up. As he walked back, there were some policemen seated in the pavilion, in the area meant for the Australian team. Wright stopped, said hello to them and asked them when did they join the Australian team. The policemen were all smiles as the New Zealander walked by.
In doing so, Wright indicated that the Indian team, despite its resolve to make up for the embarrassing loss in the first Test, is relaxed; indeed more at ease than when the series began in Bangalore.
Indian cricket has happy memories of Chepauk, as the old timers like to call the M A Chidambaran stadium, the venue for the second Test. Victory at the venue clinched India the series against Australia in 2001 and gave John Wright his biggest victory.
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The ground also saw Sunil Gavaskar get his record-breaking 30th century in 1983, and leg spinner Narendra Hirwani the best match analysis by a player on Test debut, when he finished with 16 wickets for 136 runs against the West Indies in the 1987-88 series. India also recorded its first ever Test victory at the ground, in 1951-52.
On the eve of the match, the pitch, however, was the subject of intense debate. The bare surface in Bangalore frightened the Australians though it evidently takes more than that to defeat them.
"The wicket is very similar to the last Test that was played here between India and Australia," said S Parthasarathy, the curator of the Chepauk wicket.
Parthasarathy has been the curator of the ground for over 32 years and is known as one who does not doctor pitches.
"Teams request for a particular type of wicket. It always happens before a game, but we prefer to let the wicket be as it is and is not partial to anyone. This wicket will help the seamers to start of with and then the ball will come on to the bat. Finally, it will help the spinners. There is something for everyone," he added.
The wicket was re-laid about two years back but its nature remains the same. In the 26 Tests played at the venue, India have won seven while the visiting team 10. Five of the 26 Tests were against Australia, with India winning the last two matches.
Thus, India will look to history to inspire them against a team that has been breaking records.
Talking about records, Shane Warne is on the verge of becoming the world record holder for wickets in Test cricket and the Aussies want to make it a memorable Test for him.
In all likelihood, they will go in with the same squad that comprehensively won the first Test. That would mean that Brett Lee would have to sit out again.
India, on the other hand, have enough problems with their batting line-up to be concerned about what Australia are planning. In the last Test, their top five contributed virtually nothing in both innings.
Another area of concern for the Indian team is the form of Zaheer Khan. He did not give away too many runs in the first Test, but hardly ever looked capable of getting a wicket. In fact, it would be worth trying out Ajit Agarkar, who has a good record against the Aussies -- 29 wickets from eight Tests, including a career-best 6 for 41 in India's win at the Adelaide Oval.
Mohammad Kaif's inclusion was expected, but it is still unclear who he will replace in the side. Will it be Yuvraj Singh or Akash Chopra?
India need to take a stand now, because if they don't it just might be too late. The wicket will not break till around the third day, and by that time India should make sure they are in command.
A tough, but not impossible, task awaits India. A fightback is in order and that's what the entire nation is hoping for.
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