After the tour from Down under, the expectations from the Indian team was on an all time high . Indians, much to the contrary of their reputation won a One Day series in Australia and went overboard in their celebrations. Fair enough! Who would have thought that this Indian side with almost ten players in the starting 11 with an average age of 22 would cause the downfall of the mighty Australians .Suprisingly, the side was without two of their old horses who shared 20,000runs between them and loads of experience to go with it. The Australians had a taste of their own medicine and were reciprocated with the same hostile hospitality that they offered and they found it extremely tough to be on the receiving side. Pretty unusual eh!. So after all the euphoria that clouded the Indian team the stage was set for the South African series at home. A team ranked no:1 vs another aspiring to be the best.
The Chepauk pitch which use to offer a little assistance for the quicker bowlers acted completely different to its reputation. It was a flat deck and there was nothing in it for the bowlers. Anyone who could sight the ball well was able to rewrite his record books. Even the quickest of bowlers were not spared. The match itself proved to be a highlights package and both the teams posted mammoth totals . It was an ugly sight not only for the bowlers but also for the purists of the game. Even a good length delivery was taken toll off. The true test of batsman is how he battles it out on a lively pitch that has atleast a little on offer for the bowlers. The chepauk pitch ruined what was suppose to be a Humdinger of a contest between two good teams in great form.
