Waiting, waiting, waiting... that’s all I ever do.
Poet Michelle Dickson penned down these lines for his love. Had he been Indian, he may have sung the song for the national cricket team that’s playing in Australia.

No Indian team has won a Test series there since 1947-48. Only in 1980-81, 1985-86 and 2003-04 did India return with honours shared. It’s been a long wait, as Dickson would say. India have won the 50-overs World Cup twice; and downed Pakistan on their home turf in 2004. Australia and South Africa remain the cricketing Everest. This time, a wave of optimism has gripped the country. There’s a general feeling that this is India’s best chance to win a Test series, Down Under. Just recently, Virender Sehwag not only broke Sachin Tendulkar’s world record of being the lone double hundred scorer in One Day Cricket but surpassed it to register a score of 219 runs. Sehwag now holds the new world record and wants to fulfil his dream of winning a series in Australia.

He said that young Indians are not afraid to take on the world at any platform. That confidence is reflected when the young and talented Virat Kohli goes in to bat, R Ashwin is ready to spin or youngster Umesh Yadav is raring to test the Aussie batsman with the wrong one.

Chairman of selectors, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, has seconded Sehwag. “If you ask me whether this team can beat Australia on their home turf, I would say I’m very confident. Let’s look forward to a great Australia tour. Let’s pray that this side beats Australia in Australia, which has been a cherished dream for every Indian cricketer and every Indian fan,” Srikkanth said.

India’s confidence is not entirely misplaced. Michael Clarke’s men are not the game’s high-school bullies any more. In the early 2000s’, India showed that the Aussies were human. South Africa realised they were beatable. And twice in the Ashes, the Englishmen proved that they could be fragile when cornered. It was the birth of belief. Not that Australia have lost their competitive streak. They’re in transition but are not expected to replicate the results of the late 90s.

David Warner, Philip Hughes and Usman Khawaja have just started their careers. James Pattinson and Patrick Cummins are promising quicks, but they’re still in apprentice as far as Test cricket is concerned. And an injury list is only increasing the woes of the Aussies further.

The Australians have roped in Greg Chappel to break the myth of ‘Sachin Tendulkar.’ Australia’s batting has been veering between sublime and awful (remember Newlands and 47 all out or a seven run defeat at the hands of the Kiwis). Though Ricky Ponting retains his place for the first test, there remains uncertainty over Brad Haddin, Ricky Pointing and Michael Hussey’s future.

India, in contrast, has had a different build-up to the series. The three Tests against the West Indies were used to get over the disaster in England. “The tour of England was a huge disappointment for us and there were fitness problems too. We could have done better,” Rahul Dravid was quoted as saying. “However that is a thing of the past and the tour Down Under gives us another opportunity to do well. Hopefully, we will have a full-strength side and do well there.”

If anything, the England debacle forced the selectors to make some inspired selection decisions.

R Ashwin replaced Harbhajan Singh and instantly made a mark. Yuvraj Singh looked dazed against the friendly pace of Darren Sammy. Virat Kohli was slotted in at number six, where he  instantly reposed the selectors’ faith with two 50s in the Mumbai Test. Pragyan Ojha was given a full series and not made to feel as Harbhajan’s sidekick. The likes of Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav ensured that nobody was talking about Zaheer Khan. Both Harbhajan and Yuvraj are not going to Australia. That’s some statement by the national selectors who’ve taken off their blinkers, took a look at the big picture. Harbhajan’s ordinary record Down Under also worked against him. In the four Tests spread over two tours, he has merely nine wickets at an average of 73.

Conversely, this could be the most inexperienced Indian bowling attack to travel to Australia. The selection of Praveen Kumar was due to a last minute injury that led to Varun Aaron missing out on the flight to Australia.

Ishant Sharma poses a confusing state of affairs: promising in brief bursts but he doesn’t inspire complete confidence. Initial injury scares only added to the confusion. And Umesh Yadav is an unschooled, raw talent who needs time to grow. If Zaheer is not at his peak, the Indians have a situation. However before leaving for Australia, Zaheer sounded confident of his rehabilitation. “I have had a faster recovery than expected”, said the senior pacer. “This is one opportunity that I wouldn’t want to let go and with the likes of Ishant and Umesh, if we bowl to our potential, who knows, anything is possible,” added Zaheer.

Kapil Dev, has been profuse in praise of Yadav too. “I’m very happy with the new pace attack, Umesh and Varun. I’m especially impressed with Yadav. He is such a talented bowler. He never shows aggression. The spell he bowled in the Kolkata Test against the West Indies was awesome,” he said. On the spin front, India doesn’t have a senior hand like Anil Kumble. The Aussies will sense that India have a weak link here. Though Ashwin has travelled with the India ‘A’ team to Australia, a Test match is a different deal. Perhaps, he could turn to two other former Indian spinners who had a fine track record there. Erappalli Prasanna had a tally of 31 wickets in eight matches in Australia. Shivlal Yadav, India’s manager for the tour had 23 wickets in five.

India’s batting, meanwhile, continues to luxuriate in riches. When it comes to Test experience, India has few peers. This is Sachin Tendulkar’s fifth tour of Australia and the fourth trip for Dravid and Laxman. Virender Sehwag was there in 2003 and 2007. Gautam Gambhir had an outstanding VB series in 2008 as did Rohit Sharma. Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane had been in this part of the world during India ‘A’ tours. But Kapil Dev warns, “Don’t forget the England series. We gave a poor show in batting. It was a lesson for all the seniors.”

Batting is India’s strong suite. But with way too demanding conditions, it could be a weakness too. Barring Dravid, India’s formidable line-up seemed to have lost the technical finesse and powers of application displayed in England.

Time tells on man. The reflexes of the seniors will be put to test by Cummins, Pattinson and Peter Siddle, although the wickets Down Under are not expected to provide the same lateral movement as in England. Now in their late 30s, can Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman return unscathed in what surely is their last assignment in Australia? The longish outfields in Australia pose another challenge; the throwing arms of the seniors will be tested to the full. Wiser from the experience in England, the selectors decided to send the seniors to Australia early (in two batches). However, India does not have enough practice matches before the Boxing Day Test.

In this regard, Laxman says, “With the way international cricket calendar is slated, there is not much scope. Though initially we had one practice match, it’s good that we will be playing two practice matches instead of one now. We should get used to conditions as early as possible and surely we will do our best.”

Truly, its MS Dhoni’s most challenging assignment, second only to the England series. With the exception of the 0-4 rout in England, Dhoni has done no wrong.

Skipper Dhoni believes, “Most of the batsmen have played here before. We are hoping we will do well here. But Dhoni is not ready to believe that the current Australian team can be easily tamed just because of some big names or because of some forgettable matches in recent times. India needs to play to their potential to win the series, adds a cautious Dhoni.

Even Kapil Dev is of the same opinion as his recent World Cup winning peer. “We know that Australia is not doing well or that they haven’t been up to the mark in recent times. But don’t forget beating Australia in Australia is very tough. Dhoni has the aggression, but I want to see him convert the aggression to victory,” Kapil added.

In the meantime, Tendulkar fans, hands clasped in prayer, are waiting for that elusive hundredth international ton. As a British writer, puts it: the wait has been both unexpected and strangely illuminating. So much so that even Sachin, in spite of playing on 92 in the practice match at Canberra didn’t go out to bat again.

Maybe it’s destined to happen at the Sydney Cricket Ground where he averages over 200. Perhaps it could happen as early as the first  Test in Melbourne on Boxing Day. It won’t be too long before we know.