Revenge can be sweet
The revenge was satisfying for the Indian cricket team as the memories of a disastrous summer in England were wiped out in the retaliatory 5-0 “Whitewash”. Considering England’s ODI record against India in India is 16 to one, not too much should be read into India’s domination except that the record reiterates the World Cup champions continue to be formidable in 50-overs cricket at home.
England could not live up to pre-series hype: their batting against spin on pitches with some grip in them tended to repeatedly let them down. Dhoni’s “Man of the Series” batsmanship, allied to the consistent success of Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Ajinkya Rahane, settled the argument each time in favour of Team India. England will return in 2013 to play more ODIs: by then they might possibly be more competitive out here.
Team India were redoubtable even without stalwarts like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan. Following the England debacle, India’s biggest gain was that selectors were forced to seek players from a wider compass. Thus they stumbled on fast bowling talents like Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav.
It’s something of a pity that the series was not played in the best of spirits. There wee too many flashpoints, including the one at the very end when Ravindra Jadeja was involved in a spat with Ian Bell and Jade Dernbach. Such incidents are best not seen around the arena as they set a very poor example for young cricketers around the world.
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