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MELBOURNE - Apparently, the Australian Test cricket team was going to struggle without Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath in their bowling lineup.
Just under a year since two of the best bowlers in cricket history retired, Australia have brilliantly overhauled their attack.
They mauled India in this Boxing Day Test fundamentally because Australia's bowlers never let India's awesome batting lineup build up a head of steam.
The game turned early on day two when Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson kept Indian openers Rahul Dravid and Wasim Jaffer from making a quick start to the Indian first innings.
Whatever initiative India had built with their day-one fightback was quickly gone.
Wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist praised the Australian bowlers for their collective efforts in this Test.
"It's the highest quality, that bowling, just allowing Punter (captain Ricky Ponting) to set the fields he wants ... 'suffocation' is the word," Gilchrist said.
"If you don't have runs flowing, you're under the pump - they (our bowlers) were brilliant.
"They were all just a great team, a great pack of bowlers, that worked really well and hunted well."
The last time India toured in 2003-04, Australia were also without Warne and McGrath and the home side struggled to dismiss the tourists.
But this time Brett Lee is uninjured and relishing being the No.1 bowler.
Stuart Clark has assumed McGrath's mantle as the human metronome with his accuracy and new left-armer Mitchell Johnson is improving with every match.
Spinner Brad Hogg recovered from some early punishment from Sachin Tendulkar to impress in his Test cricket return, while tearaway quick Shaun Tait is in strong form as he waits for a recall.
"It was sort of a 50-50 game at stumps on day one, but the way we bowled and the intensity in the field and everything we did at the start of day two was where the game really changed and swung in our favour," Ponting said.
"You need the bowlers to execute what you're trying to do and I think the bowlers did that really well in this game."
- AAP
