Ground Report

The composition of the Indian team may lack the dash of youth but star batsmen Sachin Tendulkar assured age would not be a factor in the Test series against Australia. Tendulkar arrived on Tuesday with, among others, captain Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly and all of them are on their last tour of the country. The master batsman, however, refused to read too much into the age factor, thus putting an end to a growing speculation about his possible retirement because of his age. Asked whether it would be a disadvantage against the supremely athletic Aussies, Tendulkar’s curt reply was, "No, not really." Tendulkar and his teammates arrived here on a difficult mission, considering that no team has been able to beat Australia at their den since the West Indies achieved the feat in 1992-93. Asked if it looked a feasible target for India, Tendulkar said, "We have come here to play good cricket and with good results, so hopefully we will." "We have come here in good shape and we are looking forward to this tour," he was quoted as saying by the ‘Sydney Morning Herald’.