How quickly things change. About this time four weeks ago, Dhoni was the captain leading a slightly unsettled team and under the scanner especially post the "we-wanted-to-sack-him" declaration from Amarnath. Fast forward a month and Australia have been clobbered in the first two Tests, their batsmen (aside from the captain) can't seem to buy a run and to top it all off we have the Gang of Four saga as Sharda Ugra put it. The only thing seemingly in common between the two teams at the moment is that they have both just dropped their vice-captains/second most experienced player (though India does not officially appoint vice-captains for home series but more on that and Sehwag later).
I don't know if Michael Clarke is a Bon Jovi fan or not but given the ominous task facing him and his team, a rallying call along the lines of the chorus from Living on a Prayer would not be out of place. Over the last two days there's been pages and pages upon commentary and reactions about the decisions that have been made on this tour but thankfully with play starting again tomorrow, attention will be back where it belongs. And while Australia are shaken up, I personally don't subscribe to what seems to be the common view that they're heading for 4-0. First off, you only need to look as far back as England's tour of India to see that even a damaging team rift can be repaired quickly and results turned around and Pietersen is arguably a much more important player than Watson will ever be. Moreover, I'd be surprised if Warner, Cowan, and Hughes have learnt nothing from the first two matches and my bet would be that at least one of them scores big in Mohali. The same goes for Siddle and Lyon and they'll be keen to prove that they can shoulder the load as lead bowlers. The addition of Haddin will also add valuable experience and potentially the leadership that Clarke is looking for and the captain himself continues to be in glorious form. Be interesting to see the rest of the selections and whether they go for Wade over Smith and stick with Doherty. The one selection (even at the beginning of the tour) that surprised me was Smith and the fact that Inverarity and the group did not go with George Bailey or Shaun Marsh instead. Australia are not flush with batsmen at the moment and not using what little talent/temperament they possess is (in hindsight) probably not very wise.
Clarke will also draw some comfort from the fact that he faces a team that's never been the best front-runner. The last time India won three tests in a series was as far back as the '94/95 season over a rather weak Sri Lankan side. And while history is no real guide, it will be interesting to see how Dhoni and his men react to being "4-0" favourites and whether they can carry the momentum from the southern parts of the country to the north. Dropping Sehwag was a positive signal that they're not willing to sit back anymore though I would not go so far as to say that the selectors are getting all the calls right. Going with Vijay and Jadeja has proved to be a good idea (at home at least) but playing Harbhajan ahead of Ojha and persisting with Ishant does not demonstrate the most forward-looking thought. I would also have drafted in Rahane ahead of Dhawan but that's a 50/50 call so good luck to the latter as he begins his career in what is turning out to be a very new look Indian line-up. A look at the likely playing XIs for this Test compared to the ones from Australia's 4-0 clincher in Adelaide last year shows that the "inexperienced" visitors are likely to have six of the players from that match take the field in Mohali. India on the other hand will have only four and yet will start favourites. How quickly things change.
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