Wright stuff: Chance to make history

Before Sourav Ganguly and Inzamam-ul-Haq walk out for the toss at the PCA Stadium here tomorrow morning, John Wright wants to tell his team ...

Before Sourav Ganguly and Inzamam-ul-Haq walk out for the toss at the PCA Stadium here tomorrow morning, John Wright wants to tell his team that it stands on the edge of creating history. There are many things at stake in this series — the reputations of two coaches, the positions of two captains — but Wright, as always, seeks to put things in perspective.

True that India go into the Test series with a slight edge — betting site Ladrokes installs Ganguly’s team as firm favourites to win both this Test and the series — but the coach throws up a disconcerting statistic. India, he points out, has never, ever won back-to-back series against any country barring Bangladesh.

‘‘On paper we start favourites, but history is against us,’’ Wright told The Indian Express today.

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‘‘History says that we are not the favourites. It has not been done before and we’d like to change that.’’

To achieve that against arch rivals Pakistan will only make it better he says, quietly confident of his team’s chances. ‘‘This team has written quite a bit of history in the last few years and this could be a defining chapter.’’

Vice-captain Rahul Dravid is aware of that but prefers to underplay the importance of the event. ‘‘No one starts favourites. It just sounds very good to the public and to the media to say that but the truth is that until the bat meets ball all is even,’’ he told this paper.

‘‘There is nothing like a weaker team or a stronger team. The scoreboard decides that at the end of the day, not the ‘favourites’ tag,’’ he adds. ‘‘It would be great to achieve a back to back series win against Pakistan but right now it’s all even.’’

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If anything, given the greenish tinge to the wicket, the odds favour the team that wins the toss. It’s something the Indian team doesn’t really fancy, especially after what happened at Nagpur against Australia last year, but typically they are putting a positive spin to it.

‘‘It will make a victory even sweeter,’’ said one senior team member. The team would rather want to believe — as Steve Waugh did — that the toss is just another way to get the game started.