Five of sachin tendulkar’s seven hundreds against Australia have come between 1996 to 1998, at a time when the Mumbai batsman had been in imperious form, perhaps the best in his 18-year-old international career. The only other time when Tendulkar managed the feat again was once in 2000 in Indore and then again in 2003 in Gwalior.

Sourav Ganguly’s only hundred against the world champions was an effort that ended up in a losing cause, a chase in Melbourne.

Rahul Dravid has never managed to get into triple figures against the Australians.

These statistics, however, would be the last things playing in the minds of the Big Three when they walk out in the third one-day international to be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, on Friday. The primary thought, instead, would be to let those questioning their looming presence know that it is not over for them, yet.

The Twenty20 victory has suddenly thrown to the fore a bunch of enthusiastic youngsters, now eager to mark their presence in the 50-over format.

And the selectors have also begun to indicate that the acid test has begun for the seniors in the team. Chairman of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar is not willing to speak on the subject yet, but his arrival in Hyderabad on Wednesday evening is an indication that things will be watched carefully. The ground here, still in the final stages of construction, and the pitch—based on Hyderabad Cricket Association’s (HCA) four-year-old initiative of having faster and greener tracks—had assured the Proteas (the last team to play here), and the likes of Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel, enough bounce and pace in the first innings.

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