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ADELAIDE - Australia are mindful of the swansong factor which could inspire five of India's all-time cricket greats, who will embark today on the beginning of the end in Australia.
Indian captain Anil Kumble, 37, and star batsmen Sachin Tendulkar, 34, Rahul Dravid, 35, Sourav Ganguly, 35, and VVS Laxman, 33, are about to play what will surely be their last tests in Australia, and have unfinished business.
The quintet formed a pact before the series to make their final visit a memorable one, and have the opportunity to leave Australia with a squared 2-2 series result.
Having watched in awe at how the West Indies' Brian Lara signed off from cricket in Australia, with 226 in Adelaide in 2005, captain Ricky Ponting acknowledged the tourists had enormous incentive entering the final test.
Especially five icons who boast a combined 578 tests, 35,981 runs and 678 wickets.
"Their batsmen and Anil, their skipper, might not tour Australia again, so they've got a lot of incentive coming into this game as a group," Ponting said.
"A lot of their batsmen have had success here in the past as well, this sort of wicket with not a lot of bounce is something that suits them.
"So we just have to look at doing things better than we have."
The Indian superstars have been enormously popular in Australia and have enjoyed their tours here.
Tendulkar and Laxman have excelled in Australian conditions, Ganguly and Kumble have triumphed with test victories as skippers, and Dravid was supreme during their last visit.
The Adelaide Oval has been especially kind.
Laxman has scored a century here, Dravid a double, Kumble had his first success in Australia here and Ganguly led India to the 2003 win that, until last week, might have rated as their best overseas.
Remarkably for such a great batting wicket, Tendulkar has missed out in Adelaide in his three matches and averages 20.
But like Lara before him, the Little Master might just have one more great innings in him.
Kumble, who last tour thought he might have played his final Test in Australia, said the seniors wanted to leave these shores with their "heads held high" and pace the way for an Indian side to one day win a series here.
"The future Indian teams which come here will look at the performances from the past and I'm sure they'll do what we could not achieve here, so that's something which I'm really proud of," he said.
India can claim the title as the best of the rest, as they have pushed Australia like no other during their dominant era.
Of the 14 post-millennium tests between these countries, Australia have won six, India five and three were drawn.
It was India who twice broke Australia's famous winning streaks, in Kolkata in 2001 and Perth last week, and they were the side that last beat Australia in successive tests, also in that famous series seven years ago.
But Australia have not lost two tests in a home series since the West Indies were twice successful in 1996-97, and it was their predecessors who last beat Australia in successive tests in this country, in 1992-93.
Australia have never lost a home series since that that 1992-93 summer, and only South Africa (1993-94), New Zealand (2000-01) and India (2003-04) have drawn series here.
Of the big five, only Tendulkar will remain in Australia for the triangular one-day series.
- AAP
