India cricketers play catch-up again after sluggish start

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Just one test into the  four-match series against Australia and India are confronting  the grim reality that they remain international cricket’s  slowest starters, especially on tour.
Before leaving the shores of home, VVS Laxman was  contemplating what he thought was India’s best chance of  securing their first test series triumph in Australia.
The 122-run thumping in Melbourne, however, means it is the  same old story with the Indian team embarking on yet another  catch-up job when the series resumes in Sydney on Tuesday.
“We are known to be tentative starters. More often than not,  we don’t start well. Hope the next match is going to be slightly  better,” India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said in the  aftermath of the defeat.
This time, though, Dhoni cannot even complain about poor  preparation.
Unlike in England earlier this year, where the under-cooked,  injury-ravaged team surrendered the world number one test status  following a 4-0 whitewash, Dhoni and his team mates had two  weeks and a couple of warm-up games to get ready.
“We had enough practice, we just need to apply ourselves a  bit more in the game,” Dhoni later told STAR Cricket channel.
The Indian skipper can probably start with himself.
A former number one batsman in one-dayers, Dhoni has a  rather unflattering test record abroad and his scores of six and  23 in Melbourne hardly enhanced his reputation.
Yes, batting at number seven means he often has tailenders  for company but the hard truth is Dhoni averages a poor 17 in  Australia, a gulf from his near 38 overall.
This from a captain who, in cricket’s shorter formats, leads  by example.
Opener Gautam Gambhir’s poor form has not helped India’s  cause either, denying them the kind of solid start to an innings  they would have been hoping for.
The pugnacious southpaw embarked on a sensational purple  patch in March 2009 when he hit the first of five centuries in  as many tests.
He has not managed another since and now has just two half  centuries in his last 13 innings, both coming against a weak  West Indies attack on home soil.
BOUNCED OUT
Gambhir could not negotiate swing in England, where a  concussion while fielding compounded his misery, and was done in  by the bounce in both innings of the Melbourne test.
So far the perfect foil for his explosive partner Virender  Sehwag, Gambhir managed three and 13 in Melbourne and now looks  the most vulnerable of India’s top five batsmen.
His fellow Delhi batsman Virat Kohli has also put his number  six position in India’s line-up at risk.
Kohli has cemented his place in India’s 50-over squad but  after managing 11 and a golden duck in Melbourne, the  23-year-old right-hander has given Rohit Sharma, another limited  overs specialist, enough reason to be optimistic of his test  debut.
In the bowling department, Dhoni’s sole concern is a  seemingly inexplicable inability to clean up the Australian tail  despite tearing through the top and middle order.
Dhoni reckoned it was the Australian tailenders who tilted  the scales in Melbourne but would not blame his bowlers, who  did, after all, take 20 wickets in the match.
“It’s not that the bowlers didn’t try,” Dhoni said.  “Definitely we need to find a way to get the lower order batsmen  out because if they keep adding those extra 30, 40-odd runs that  can really make the difference.”
The tourists will hope that is not the case in the second  test, where a traditional Sydney Cricket Ground track would suit  the Indian stroke-makers and spinners alike.
“It’s a long series and four tests give you a lot of room to  make a comeback in the series. We will take positives from this  match and come back strongly in the next test,” Dhoni said.