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A thrilling contest beckons

So after all the many weeks of hype, the first Test between India and Australia starts in a week's time. Its been a while since I saw some quality cricket on TV so am definitely looking forward to it.

In terms of the two teams, I think they are more evenly matched than ever in the recent past which makes picking a winner incredibly hard. And interestingly, the gap has been closed because the Indian bowling attack's stronger than its been in a while and the Aussie one has grown weaker at the same time. Brett Lee's form will probably be one of the deciding factors of the series as will Harbhajan's. To me they are the key bowlers on either side with the rest having to provide strong, steady support.

As for the batting, the pressure will certainly be on the Indian veterans and I for one think that they'll be up to the task and surprise a few people. Dravid is my bet to perform the best amongst the four but I think they'll all come through ok. The key for India in the batting though will be Sehwag and Dhoni, mainly because of their ability to collar attacks on desi pitches. And the fact that the two of them flank the veterans in the middle. If they do well, India will be favourites.

Hayden and Ponting will of course get the most attention amongst the Australian batters but in my opinion, the key players for them will be Mike Hussey and Simon Katich because they can bat patiently for long periods. I'm hoping that Katich gets to open the batting ahead of Jaques (though is Australia don't make that change, as an Indian supporter I won't be complaining ;-)).

All in all, it should be 15-20 days of enthralling cricket (the only downside being that Aruna's probably going to get bored out of her mind with me going on about the game all the time!! :-))

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