Australia v India 2014: What will India whinge about next, writes Robert Craddock

ONE day they were blowing up about the spice in their food. On Saturday it was the spice in the practice pitches, writes Robert Craddock.

Shikhar Dhawan out LBW to Nathan Lyon for 81 during day 4 of the second cricket test between Australia and India from the Gabba in Brisbane. Pics Adam Head

ONE day they were blowing up about the spice in their food. On Saturday it was the spice in the practice pitches.

What will be the issue with India on Sunday? The hotel beds are too hard? The eggs too soft? The sky just that bit too blue?

Australia knows the feeling well.

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On tour after miserable tour of India the theme used to be the same. The food tasted funny. The umpires are cooking us. And what about those decks?

To win abroad you have to somehow find a way of rising above the “Tortured Tourist Syndrome” and only the best teams do it.

India is on the rise and is tantalisingly close to being a world-class force again.

Murali Vijay can’t hide his disappointment after being dismissed. Picture: Adam Head

It has given a spirited account in the first two Tests and should be proud of themselves.

The challenge for them now is to brush aside the grumbles that every touring team faces, including a series of marginal calls which went against them yesterday, and become the powerhouse that they should be.

Question marks over India’s mindset in the Gabba Test flared from the moment fast bowler Ishant Sharma and several other teammates were spotted spending lunch outside the ground on day three eating on the footpath.

They didn’t like the specially prepared Gabba vegetarian fare and had a local chef make up some special dishes for them.

Not since Shane Warne received a special shipload of baked beans to India in 1998 has a cricketer looked so happy to be woofing down emergency rations.

India's Virat Kohli is bowled off Australia's paceman Mitchell Johnson. Kohli was hit on the wrist in an earlier nets session.

Fortunately they were not quite as desperate as the Indian cricketers who toured here in the 1960s and were found fishing for eels for dinner in the Brisbane River because their modest touring allowance had run out.

It was a brave call from the Indians to eat their lunch on the Vulture St footpath because players are not supposed to leave the ground without being cleared through a series of protocols which, in these days of match fixing, are closely adhered to.

ICC officials sat with them to save them from being fined.

Gabba authorities had done their best to a lengthy list of food demands which included instructions that food should not be spicy and presented at a specified temperature.

Had the Indians complained about the taxi service at the Gabba you could understand it given its so poor it would not surprise if there are still England fans from last year’s Test still queuing for a ride.

But exasperated caterers tried to follow a highly detailed food script which changed two or three times and were not displeased with their efforts.

Australia's wicketkeeper Brad Haddin lauds a successful LBW appeal against India's Shikhar Dhawan from off spin bowler Nathan Lyon.

Three of the Indians have personally made meals including captain MS Dhoni who is delivered two chicken burgers, three cans of coke and three scoops of ice cream each lunch break.

He was easily pleased. At a stretch they could have answered his every whim with a quick trip to McDonald’s.

The food issue is an ever present challenge for India, and not just abroad.

Former Test opener Virender Sehwag had different parts of India where he struggled with the local fare.

There have been times on tour such as the West Indies where the India team would find a food vendor they liked and would chip in a few dollars each to be supplied with curries and bread they liked.

Normally they get it for free from locals who consider it an honour to feed them and for all their complaints, the modern cricketer, gets very well fed indeed.

Originally published as Australia v India 2014: What will India whinge about next, writes Robert Craddock