The Indian cricketers, split into two groups, limbered up with some warm-up sport, kicking a football across a line of chairs. A kite swooped low before taking off into the skies. Outside, Wallajah Road swelled with traffic heading towards the Marina Beach and adjoining localities. It was a Friday night of anticipation at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium as the hallowed venue was being readied for Sunday’s World Cup clash between India and Australia.
If there were any nerves within the ranks, coach Rahul Dravid did well to mask it as he was his usual self at a media interaction: calm and equally prone to some self-deprecatory humour. Asked about a safe total on Indian surfaces, he dead-panned: “One run more than the opposition.”
He then explained: “It’s hard to tell. Some of the squares in India, you have red soil, black soil, you have a mix of red and black. Each one is going to be unique. I don’t think you can go and say that this is going to be a safe total. You have to adapt. Ground sizes will be different. We will play on a relatively bigger ground in Chennai compared to say when we go to Bangalore or Delhi.”
