It's even, Steven!

- Faisal Shariff in Madras

Chandu Borde, all of 67, walked onto the IIT-Chemplast cricket ground in Madras at 10 am on Saturday, wearing umpire's togs, and officiated at one end as the India squad split itself into two and practised under simulated match conditions.

It was hot, but the chairman of national selectors didn't seem to feel it, enduring the sun for the full four hours of the training session -- a contrast to his colleagues on the selection panel, Ashok Malhotra, Madan Lal and T A Shekhar, who kept vanishing into the shelter of the pavilion time and again.

"It was great fun out in the middle, I enjoyed it," Borde says later. "When you watch the lads playing from close quarters, it is so different to sitting in the pavilion. You get a better feel for how the various players are shaping up."

As we talk of the imminent Australian visit, a date comes to mind -- November 4, 1969. On that date, at the Brabourne stadium, the Australians under Bill Lawry wrapped up a Test-series win on Indian soil. Chandu Borde played in that game. Australia hasn't won a series since then. And Chandu Borde hasn't played a Test since that date.

"I was very surprised when the selectors dropped me," Borde says, then grins as he realises the irony of the situation. "Just after that game, I scored a hundred for West Zone in the Duleep Trophy. I was just plain unlucky to be dropped. But it taught me a lesson, and I hope to make sure that I don't make the same mistakes, now that I am a selector."

Thinking back to that lost game, Borde confesses that he cannot single out any one factor that made the Australians a winning combination. "Overall, it was a very good side, very well balanced, well organised. And I remember they had some fearsome bowlers, like McKenzie, Gleeson, Connolly. And a very khadoos (mean) captain in Lawry."

Borde's words, come to think of it, could well be used to describe the Australian squad that is due to arrive in India this week -- well organised, well-balanced, with some fearsome bowlers, and a khadoos captain. And what is more, it is a side that has seemingly forgotten what it is to lose.

"Maybe we will remind them of it, of what it is to lose," Borde says, laughing. But then, he turns serious and argues that India is not an underdog in the upcoming series. "We have an even chance," Borde argues. "Yes, we don't have Kumble -- but they are without Brett Lee. Our wickets are generally slower, the Australian bowlers will not get the bounce they need. And besides, will their fast bowlers be able to last out the tour, or will one or more succumb to injury?"

But surely the Indian team is not building a strategy based on injuries to the Australians? "Of course not, that is not a gameplan -- but it is a factor to keep in mind, when you are trying to assess the prospects for the tour," Borde says.

The chairman of selectors, though, is equally certain that the home side could be in for torrid times. "The Aussies are good fighters, they are the number one team in the world today," he agrees. "They are very tough opponents, mentally and physically."

So how does he rate the home side, as picked by him and his fellow selectors?

"We have a good seam attack, suited to our conditions," he believes. "On Indian tracks it is seam and swing more than pace that works, and that suits our bowlers. And there are likely lads, like Ashish Nehra and Surinder Singh, waiting in the wings."

And spin, sans Kumble?

"We are a little thin in that department," Borde, himself a fairly decent leg-spinner, admits, "but when we pick the final squad, we will make sure we have a decent spin attack."

Which reminds you of a statement Borde made recently, that if need be, the selectors would not hesitate to go beyond the list of probables when picking the squad. Did Sairaj Bahutule's recent six-wicket haul in the Duleep Trophy fixture against East Zone have anything to do with it? "No, not at all," Borde says. "We have always maintained that we will pick the best possible side. Sairaj could still make it, anyone who performs well could make it. We will decide after the Challenger Series, we are keeping an open mind and for now, merely observing," says Borde.

Borde himself doesn't have a flattering record against the Australians, having played against them in 13 Tests of which India lost 8. Those figures are reflected in his personal record as well -- Borde has a top score of 69 against the Aussies, and a haul of eight wickets from those 13 Tests.

"When we went to Australia before that series in 1968-'69, we were beaten but we were disappointed with a lot of umpiring decisions," Borde says.

Words that seem to echo the mindset of the Indian team that, under Tendulkar, last toured Australia. But, we remind Borde, this is a home series we are about to play, so that particular reason, excuse, won't hold water. So what is his final take on India's chances in the three-Test series beginning in the last week of February?

"Dead even," he says.