Sachin Tendulkar ready to strike big in Australia : Ganguly

There was lot of talk before the start of the series about how big it will be for the Australian summer, the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag and V. V. S. Laxman coming Down Under - excepting Sehwag, probably for the last time - to take on the young Aussie pace bowlers.
To me, the hype and the excitement is quite justified.

Tendulkar has always been very highly rated in this part of the world - one can say everywhere -but I just get a feeling that when one comes to this country the excitement with him has been just that more every time and, to be honest, his batting just goes one notch higher on the hard, bouncy pitches.Advertisement: Story continues belowIt's a combination of a whole lot of things - his sheer talent is the first thing which comes to one's mind. But also, over the years, his game has stood up every time it has been challenged.

The perfect examples were his two hundreds last winter in South Africa. There were questions asked about the ageing Indian batting: whether they could stand up on the pitches in South Africa - which, to me, had as much pace as Australian pitches but just seamed around a bit more then they did here.The little champion stood tall in those conditions. It was probably the best he batted in that part of the world in his career.

Today, when I sit down to write this piece after the end of the Boxing Day Test, I just get a feeling that the little man is at the top of his game here as well.There has been a massive expectation of his hundredth century every time he has walked out to bat for the past six months in any part of the world and he has looked completely unfazed with that expectation - which has been very similar to the expectations of a nation over a decade expecting him to win cricket matches every time he has walked out in the middle.The only criticism one can have is that he hasn't gone on to make a major match-winning contribution in his past five Tests overseas.

He has looked very solid at the MCG on a pitch which had a fair bit of help for the quicks. His feet have moved superbly, which is an indication that his mind is thinking the right way and I can guarantee you that if he keeps batting like this he will make a major impact on the remaining three Tests and probably get past that magic landmark in this country.He plays on his favourite ground, the SCG, next week and we will have all our fingers crossed when he walks out to bat.

The rest of the Indian batting will have its work cut out in this series. Sehwag has been patchy in the first Test - and probably in his few tours overseas in the past couple of years - and although he can be very dangerous when he gets going, he will have to buckle down a bit and tighten his game early in his innings.The Kookaburra ball does a bit in the first 20 overs until the seam settles down and he will have to play an important role of not only just scoring runs, but also getting that ball old for the middle order to come and not get exposed to the new cherry all the time.

Along with him, the key man would be Dravid. He has been in terrific form this year, his three hundreds on the tour of England were absolutely special in a team that struggled to get to 300 in eight innings of that series. He got a 60 in the first innings at the MCG, but knowing the perfectionist he has been, he will not be happy with the ball hitting the timber three times in a Test match.

In the past he has stood up when required and I'm sure he will work hard in the nets to get that sorted. I've got a feeling he played down the wrong line in all the occasions and this is something that can be sorted soon.
Laxman will be another key man going into the second Test on his favourite venue and India will be looking forward for a big performance from him as well.Among all the positivity and quality this Indian batting possesses, I just have a feeling that the performance of the team in the its past five Tests overseas could be a worrying factor to them.

They have lost all five of the Tests and in most cases the batting has let them down. They have not crossed 300 runs in their past 10 Test innings and that's an area of concern.The weak areas have been the No. 6 and 7 slots. The batsmen at that number, along with Laxman, have not made major contributions and every time the top order has fallen it hasn't taken teams to knock off the lower order.

The form of skipper M. S. Dhoni is crucial to the team. When he plays well he captains the side better and in these conditions that number in the batting line-up is so important as that is the scoring time in the game.
All his Test hundreds have been in the subcontinent, but I can't find a reason why he is not scoring in these conditions. We agree that the wickets do a bit more, but he has the ability and grit to change his game, which, surprisingly, has not been on show yet in his career overseas.As we move towards the Sydney Test I'm sure we will get a better performance from the Indian batting and the team, but the loss of five games in a row overseas is a worry.

Courtesy : Theage