India vs Australia: A 'Test' for captains

India versus Australia, how interesting the contest is going to be! The same is going to be the intensity of pressure on both captains. The trophy to be given away to the series winner is also on the names of two legendary captains, Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar. These two captains had never been in a face to face contest, but from the time this trophy emerged, fans have started witnessing high octane Test cricket whomsoever the opposing captains may be, like Saurav Ganguly-Steve Waugh or Anil Kumble-Ricky Ponting.

By the time a Test series between these two countries comes to an end, the captain either becomes a hero or undergoes serious criticism. And the present scenario seems to be no different from the past. For Michael Clarke, who has proved himself as the incontrovertible leader on his home soil, this series is really going to be a mettle tester. And, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who generally does not speak out about his strategies, is no doubt, going to be under intense scrutiny of former cricketers, critics and fans. After India lost the Test series on home soil to England, Dhoni had to face serious criticism. And some former cricketers even raised their eye brows on Dhoni retaining his spot in the Test side, despite his poor run in Test cricket. In this situation, the upcoming Test series has become a critical challenge to him.

When Australia won the Test series in India in 2004, Clarke had scored a magnificent knock of 151 on his debut. That is the only occasion in the last 43 years that Australia won a Test series on Indian soil. But Clarke didn’t perform on such a high note on Indian soil in his later visits to India. Lastly, when Australia toured India in 2010, Clarke managed to score only 35 runs in his four innings. Till the moment he was made the captain of Australian side, Clarke was regarded as only a show-man by the Aussie fans, and the things he was majorly related to were girl friends, tattoos and million dollar endorsements. But the responsibility of captaincy has brought up a tremendous change in Clarke’s behaviour. His statistics as a captain have been phenomenal. Strictly speaking, he was made the captain as the selectors had no other alternative on that time. But after that, he has earned the respect of his critics too. To stand as one among the successful Aussie captains is Clarke’s desire. And to fulfill his desire, he will definitely have to win this series. So, this series would be a tough challenge for him. He has shown his self confidence by announcing his team for the first Test, two days before its start. Though the former cricketers was advised to go with two specialist spinners, he kept faith in his pacers. But his decision of playing three pacers seems to be a lottery. If the lady luck smiles on him, Clarke will become a hero, but if his strategy back fires, he has to face serious consequences.

On the other side, Dhoni is under immense pressure. There can be found no series after 2011 World Cup in which Team India performed in a pleasing way. The team achieved number one Test spot under Dhoni’s captaincy, but unable to retain its spot the team has slipped down the ladder in the past two years. Additionally, the team now is in its interim period. The team is very much effected by the absence of Dravid and Laxman. Improper field settings, negative bowling, unnecessary mess related to pitches have provided a way for the critics to question Dhoni’s abilities. So, in this series, the main focus of critics, media and fans will undoubtedly be Dhoni.

And after this series, Team India has no Tests to play till the end of this year. So the expectations on Team India are higher even in these hard times. On the whole, one should witness exciting contests between two immensely motivated sides in the upcoming four match Test series.