If ever a sign was needed to indicate sinister devices to a dismal state of affairs in the Indian camp, even the forces of nature seemed to be in an unforgiving mood. Mumbai woke up to a wet and overcast Wednesday morning in the unlikely month of November! As the drowsiness gave way to a caffeine inducing wakefulness, the real tragedy of the situation dawned on the largely expectant populace. Rain ruined a mouth-watering prospect at Chennai with India in with a realistic chance to square the series against Australia.. Once again it played the part of an uninvited, unwelcome, and annoying guest to perfection. Thereafter, it was an agonizing cat-and-mouse game with the rain as enthusiasm amongst cricket fans fizzled out with increasing despair on the first day of the fourth and final Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

It was unlikely that Australia were going to take this game any less seriously with the return of their skipper, Ricky Ponting. This despite securing an unassailable two-nil victory over the hosts. The most noticeable absentee from their XI is the vivacious Shane Warne, ruled out with a broken thumb sustained during a net practice session. India, on the other hand, desperately need a few answers through the course of this game and get into winning ways with the series against South Africa just round the corner after the selectors brought in some long-standing changes.

As luck would have it, stand-in skipper, Rahul Dravid, won the toss. But India were undone by their own strategy to play a three-pronged spin attack which meant holding off against setting the opposition in to bat under heavily overcast conditions that were most likely to assist swing and pace bowling! Irfan Pathan's injury is a huge setback and India hasn't been able to find a suitable substitute. Hence, they probably thought that it would be in the team's best interests to play to their strength with three spinners, all of whom are in decent form. With a solitary fast bowler in the ranks, there was no option but to choose to bowl last on the pitch in the hope of the spinners wrecking havoc as the Test wears on. Wonder if there was a case for India to stay amiable to a flexible option to contend with the change in scenario?

When play got underway close to the tea interval, India's gruelling test continued as the openers barely got a look-in before the deadly Australian bowling duo was at it again. Glenn McGrath was at his accurate best while Jason Gillespie was in an unrelenting mood. The duo once again made mincemeat of India's opening trials. Virender Sehwag was treated to a brute of a delivery from McGrath that crashed into his stumps. Gautam Gambhir replaced a struggling Akash Chopra in the squad, but the southpaw's inability to get the right foot to come forward meant he was the obvious lbw candidate to the accurate Jason Gillespie. The pressure and conditions told on the hosts as India trudged to twelve for the loss of two wickets when rain relented.

The rain kept every one in a painful guessing mode. As opposed to torrential rain that allows the players to put their feet up, the exasperating steady trickling drizzle kept all those concerned on their toes. The fielding team can get a little frazzled by the ins and outs of the situation while for the fast bowlers, it can be quite irritating to build up the pace and pressure only to lose rhythm again as the weather intervenes. The anxious wait is bound to play on the minds of the batsmen who are forced to curb their natural game and instincts of getting on top of the opposition. A defensive mindset can be their undoing. For newcomers like Gautam Gambhir, the anxiety to make an impressive debut must have been compounded by the uncertainty of the weather.

The issue of playing under lights has once again come under the scanner and left the Australian skipper fuming quite naturally. Ricky Ponting was awarded a golden opportunity through India's decision to bat first in conditions which were only going to make his splendid pace triplets even more lethal. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar may have played more than their part in indicating to the two umpires, Rudi Koertzen and Aleem Dar, that the murky settings made sighting the ball difficult. Ricky Ponting can fume and fret for all he wants, but the umpires were always going to play safe. Imagine the hue and cry it would have raised if one of the two Indian strongholds had lost their wicket in such perilous conditions! Besides, the situation did merit their judgement to offer India the light. The floodlights are fine for the one-day variety, but the red ball is a bit of a problem under similar conditions and it does not help the fact that the height of the Australian pacemen warrants the bowling arm to raise higher than the level of the side screen, making the life of the opposition batsmen that much harder. Now the teams will have to make up for the lost time with an early half hour start with seems a more plausible option. For India's sake and in the larger interests of watching a more competitive battle, one hopes 'aamchi Mumbai cha mulga', Sachin Tendulkar, will bring something to cheer for the disappointed cricket lovers.