Australia will go in with a four-pronged pace attack that includes Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Michael Kasprowicz and Glenn McGrath on the coming four-Test series in India.
Brett Lee will play Tests for the first time in the country, while Kasprowicz has had two rather forgettable tours.
When the Aussies last toured India in 2001, it was Gillespie and McGrath who bowled their hearts out in the three-Test series and captured 17 and 13 wickets respectively on the slow, turning pitches, against some top class Indian batting. Contributing correspondent Harish Kotian caught up with the duo in Mumbai on Sunday.
India scored heavily in the 2001 series even though the two of you bowled well. What went wrong that the team lost the series 1-2 after winning the first Test?
McGrath: I think [V V S] Laxman and Rahul Dravid batted very well in that second Test and that's what went wrong for us. Hopefully, this time around we can bowl as well without that happening.
Gillespie: India played some great cricket in 2001. Their batsmen batted extremely well and Harbhajan Singh took a lot of wickets. When you have someone in the opposition who takes 30-plus wickets in a three-Test series, you are probably going to struggle to win the series.
How do you plan to stop the Indian batsmen, who seem to play at their best against Australia?
McGrath: Pretty much the same thing as last time. Just bowl with good patience and pitch the ball in the right areas and just try to enjoy the Indian conditions.
It's going to be hard work out there, but I think we are really looking forward to it.
For the first time we have four fast bowlers fully fit. Brett Lee is over here for the first time and Shane Warne is back bowling at his best.
The wickets for India's tour to Australia were probably the best batting wickets anywhere in the world and the bowlers had their work cut out.
But I think we are better prepared than the last tour and I think we will do well.
Gillespie: Patience is the key. We will be very patient. We will look to restrict their scoring zones, we will look to attack at the right times and defend at the right times, use the short ball and change of pace.
I think we will try to implement some short pitch bowling here in India and see if it suits these wickets; they don't have any pace in them, but we will see how it goes.
Have you made plans for your biggest nemesis V V S Laxman, who scores heavily every time he plays against you?
McGrath: I have always enjoyed bowling against Laxman. He has always done well against Australia. We have come up with a pretty good plan for him and we will see how it goes.
Gillespie: We have plans for him and we have plans for all the Indian batsmen. Laxman has played very well against Australia and we are hoping he doesn't score many runs in this series; that's our goal.
Do you think the absence of two leading players will affect the outcome of the series?
McGrath: Obviously, [Ricky] Ponting is a huge blow for us. We have definitely got the players who can come in and perform for us. On the other side, you can say that Sachin Tendulkar is injured and will miss the first few Test matches, which is a big blow for them too.
Gillespie: We always think we have a chance with or without Tendulkar playing for India. We can't worry too much about just one player missing, as the whole Indian batting line up is a class line-up.
How is this Aussie team different from the one that toured India in 2001?
McGrath: It's a good, young talented side, with a lot of quality players and I am sure we will win the Test series this time.
Gillespie: We are a very good team and we are doing well. Our goal is to win the Test series and, hopefully, we can do that.
