The preparation for the much-anticipated India’s tour of Australia has also started. It’s been almost three years since India embarked on probably the hardest of all tours -- the eventful 2008 Down Under tour.
Everything was there to make the series a memorable one. It was marked by breach of trust by the host captain, threat of pulling out of the tour by the tourists, on field sledging, off-field allegations and counter allegations.
India showed tremendous fighting qualities against a team which was still the superior force in world cricket. Not only on the cricket field, but off it as well the demeanor of the Indian team was professional. The then Indian skipper Anil Kumble’s handling of the ‘Sydneygate’ is an example of that.
Things have really changed ever since. Australia are not the same force that they used to be. Ponting is not anymore at the helm of Australian affairs. A new captain has taken over. Once they were the invincible team, now Australia have lost the aura, the never-say-die attitude, the courage and the brutality they were once known for. A few years back, the Australian pace attack used to bundle out oppositions for embarrassingly low scores. Now they themselves get shot out for 47!
The 2008 series had marked the downfall of Australian cricket and the beginning of a new era for Indian cricket. Can India pull off their first series win in Australia?
Everything was there to make the series a memorable one. It was marked by breach of trust by the host captain, threat of pulling out of the tour by the tourists, on field sledging, off-field allegations and counter allegations.
India showed tremendous fighting qualities against a team which was still the superior force in world cricket. Not only on the cricket field, but off it as well the demeanor of the Indian team was professional. The then Indian skipper Anil Kumble’s handling of the ‘Sydneygate’ is an example of that.
Things have really changed ever since. Australia are not the same force that they used to be. Ponting is not anymore at the helm of Australian affairs. A new captain has taken over. Once they were the invincible team, now Australia have lost the aura, the never-say-die attitude, the courage and the brutality they were once known for. A few years back, the Australian pace attack used to bundle out oppositions for embarrassingly low scores. Now they themselves get shot out for 47!
The 2008 series had marked the downfall of Australian cricket and the beginning of a new era for Indian cricket. Can India pull off their first series win in Australia?
