INDIA will have to make a huge mental effort to overcome their second close defeat in the series if they are hoping to win the remaining two games and with it the series as well.

However, they will have to wait a while to be the No.1 team in the world after they missed out on a splendid chance in Mohali and if they lose this series and still go to be No. 1 later because of the number of ODIS that they are playing, they will know that they don’t quite deserve to be there because they lost to the team that mattered.

It is with this in view that India need to approach the next two matches. That a depleted Australian team is giving them such a hard time reflects not only on the standard of the domestic structures in the two countries but also on the policies of the two countries.

If one has a look at the replacements that have come in for those regular Australian players like Michael Clarke and Nathan Bracken who had injuries before the tour and for those others who had to leave the tour midway one will notice that all those who have flown in at short notice are players who have been playing domestic cricket for a few years and have got the national call up after that.

They therefore have played more than a few tough games of cricket and so are better prepared to take that next step to the international level. Here one is not talking about the quality of cricket because that is debatable.

Like the Indians the Australian Test and international players also hardly get to play in the domestic circuit because of the busy international schedule, so it’s not as if the quality is top class. It is the competitive element that is fiercer and that prepares the Australians to cope with tough situations better than most others in the world. That element was evident even as one of the finest one-day innings was being played against them. They simply never gave up and even when the partnership was threatening to take the game away from them the effort level was high and India had to earn every run they got. In the end it was this effort that put pressure on the Indians and once the master was out the others were simply not good enough to be in the same space. Australia, like India plays in the ICC under-19 World Cup but how many of it’s under-19 players get called up to play for the country based on their junior performances? They have to go through the grind of first class cricket and perform at that level before they get a whiff of the Australian cap. Mike Hussey had to score and score for years before he got a chance to play in the national team. He brings all that experience with him and even though he is not the biggest striker of the ball the manner in which he paces his innings is something to learn from.

India on the other hand is generous with handing out its national caps and because of the obsession with youth those who haven’t even had a full season of first class cricket get the India cap without actually earning it.

The lack of first class experience shows and exposes them. By all means encourage the youth but only after he has delivered at the first class level and not in some junior event else we will continue to be so near yet so far. — Professional Management Group