The balance seems to have been restored with Australia winning the Hyderabad ODI, after the shocking defeat in T 20 semifinals against India.They now lead in the seven match series 2-0 .This time they got off to solid start from the two left handers and the more I see Hayden ,the more he amazes me . Its hard to ball at him ,being equally strong on either foot. Also, he can break the shackles anytime and has a wide array of shots.

I am surprised that Ganguly didn't find a place in the playing eleven .The politically correct excuse was he "did not fit into the scheme of things" .Well, for starters,he has averaged 52.16 in 25 matches since his return and clearly hitting the ball well .Plus it is a proven fact that he is a big match player .To me that was a decision , which definately affected India's chances .The man is placed at the third spot top ten " man of match " awards list with an aggregate 33 MOM . and it is this ability which clearly advocates his case .Dhoni would know the reasons for the same and this is certainly going to ruffle some feathers .Ganguly at the top of the order along with his partner Sachin can give that solid platform to chase big totals , not to mention the pressure it creates on the opposition .

While it is a fine idea to blood youngsters in the team amidst T20 euphoria ,we should not go overboard and undo the right completely.

I mentioned that Harbhajan Singh would be closely scrutinized as well ,in the last two seasons or so his bowling average has increased from 28runs a piece to 32 ,and if India has to do well , he should be among the wickets. India will have to forget the defeats and go with a fresh mind& the belief that they can win on Monday .The seniors will have to seize the initiative for such an important game.

As far as the selection for the next two ODIs ,Sehwag would consider unlucky to be missed out .He did score runs in South Africa and more importantly the way he scored those runs ,bringing back memories of Old Sehwag .He should be given an opportunity ,now that he is in good nick .The inclusion of Murali Kartik is good move by the selectors ,as the Aussies are not great players of quality spin and then there are more than half a dozen right handers in the Aussie team.He is also not afraid to toss the ball up and would be beaming with confidence, after a successful stint with Middlesex.


The man of moment Yuvraj Singh ,what an innings he played! .Yuvraj with his high backlift , forceful shots , cracking pulls and silken flicks is a joy to watch , for he makes batting look so easy . As Rameez Raja mentioned on Cricinfotalk , he should be batting higher up the order , as he would get more overs .

Rahul Dravid has had an unusually quiet series , so does Tendulkar by his own standards. Gautam Gambhir always had problems with the incoming ball and Uttappa should play in "V" and avoid working the ball on the on side , at the start of inning. Mind you, the aussies will try to exploit the weak areas ,so expect no favours from them .On the other hand , Clarke Symonds are just batting too well at the moment .


I just get the feeling the Indians will bounce back and from some where , we are going to see a match winning hundred or a four for , in the next match.But to start off with , Ganguly should be picked.