The legendary leg spinner Shane Warne paid fulsome tribute to Team India when he said they deserve to be the world’s No. 1 Test team as they play aggressive cricket and possess a lot of variety. Any remaining cynicism surrounding India’s stay at the summit of Test cricket should be buried once and for all after the team’s 2-0 win over

the Australians in the short series that has been likened to a “whitewash”. Phenomenal performances from the oldest in the side, Sachin Tendulkar, down to the young debutant Cheteswar Pujara, served to underline once again the depth Indian cricket is endowed with. And this is not only in the batting as the stalwart Zaheer Khan still carries the bowling attack, bemusing visitors with cleverness and guile more than pace, all the while setting an example to the likes of Ishant Sharma who showed glimpses of his prowess in time. Even one of the new entrants to the side, Pragyan Ojha, delivered the goods in tandem with the senior spinner, Harbhajan Singh.
The Australians may have fallen from the pedestal they stood on for more than a decade. However, true to the sporting spirit that drives the nation-continent, Ricky Ponting’s men were gallant in defeat in the first Test, which proved to be a thriller that went right down to the wire. Only in the second Test were the Aussies done in by the India syndrome, which gets to most touring teams that cannot take the alien cricketing environment of wearing pitches, the not so responsive SG ball, the healthy crowd support for the home team as in a traditional Test centre like Bengaluru and the formidable opposition that is accustomed to wearing down resistance. The gap between the teams seemed big at the end but the tale could have taken an entirely different twist had the Aussies been able to get numbers 10 and 11 out in Mohali when India still needed 90 to win with Laxman batting on with a troubled back at the other end.
In the final analysis, India owes even more to Laxman’s heroics in the fourth innings of the first Test. But then target chasing on a worn out pitch is something of a speciality of the stylist whose deeds against Australia have reached such epic proportions that SMS jokes were being circulated around the nation. Sachin’s ability to focus on the next ball to the exclusion of everything else has been the greatest characteristic of the batsman’s 21-year journey in international cricket. His match-winning double century really rubbed the salt into the wounds of the once proud Aussies whose baggy green caps used to symbolise ultimate drive on the cricket field. His batting master classes in the series also carried him back to his rightful top position in the world ranking of Test batsmen. At the age of 37, he is showing a quality of technique and temperament that is without parallel in the modern game.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s ability to pull rabbits out of a hat with his trademark strategies in match situations marks his continuing success with a team he has moulded into a fighting unit that is also seen to be enjoying its battles and its cricket. In promoting Pujara in another run chase the skipper proved that he is a fine leader of men. He may not be the greatest analyst of a situation, and his tactics could sometimes be questioned. But there is no doubt Dhoni, like a good general, knows his men. His next big task would be to satisfy the enhanced expectations that will reach a crescendo when India goes into the World Cup early next year. Given the team dynamics in a scenario that is positively sanguine, Dhoni’s men are certain to have a good tilt at the ultimate prize in the game.