And I hope sourav persists with parthiv. He is young and will definitely learn from his mistakes. His batting looks organized and he could well be the best solution to our wicket-keeper- batsman woes.
Sourav also silenced his critics with his batting. He certainly showed the way for India in brisbane with his front foot strokes when it seemed Indian batting was enacting the familiar old script, he turned it around for India.
His decision to promote himself to shield sachin was bold. Coming from a man who was dubbed selfish and poor against short pitched bowling to take on brett lee and brad williams in the end overs was jus the kind of leadership India needed. Didnot sachin respond to that gesture in sydney?
He needs to take more risks though in future if India are to win abroad. An earlier declaration than the one in sydney and some imaginative use of sachin and sehwag and pathan in both the innings could well hav won the series for India. But I am sure he will learn as well.
Though dravid was terrific throughout, I guess the sight of VVS laxman dominating Australia will be etched in my memory the longest. All said and done, I am proud and looking forward to Pakistan.
And then about Mcgrath's comment about the tracks not producing enough bounce and seam, it is certainly not the Indian cricketers' fault. Afterall Zaheer and Agarkar bagged five-fors which the Aussie seamers didnot. Mr Mcgrath was it the tracks or was it the bowlers that could not generate enough bounce and seam movement?
While all is well right now, let us not lose our perspectives. Whereas, India did remarkably well to draw the series, the fact of the matter is India still didnot win the series. And it is a long way away from being the No 1 team. The tailenders need to hang on for their dear lives each time they go to the crease rather than batting extravagantly. (The first match of the VB series is a case in point). And we need a pacer who can bowl line and length at consistent pace.
Coming to Sourav, he has certainly been different from sachin and azhar for sure. There is a certain attitude in this team and he needs to be appreciated for his persistence with youngsters (Kaif, Sehwag, Harbhajan, Laxman, Karthik, Zaheer, Nehra, Yuvraj have all been inconsistent but persisted with.. and they are all proving to be match winners)
Congratulations to the Indian team!. They gave a very good account of themselves in the just concluded test series which is such a welcome change from the previous touring Indian cricket teams. As an Indian living in Melbourne, I am proud of the whole hearted appreciation, my colleagues at work here (Aussies included), have developed for this Indian performance.
I will not agree with some of the excuses brought up to tarnish this performance. Dropped catches may well have been due to the pressure brought about by the quality of the batsmanship. Previously, Australia was rocked by individuals like Brian Lara, Mark Butcher, Micheal Vaughan whereas they may never have had to contend with Dravid, Laxman, Sehwag and Ganguly firing almost simultaneously (Not to forget Sachin and Chopra joining the party).
While Mcgrath was definitely a vital cog missing, India never gave a great deal to Warne. And let us remember we didnot have srinath either who was bowling at his best the last 2 years. Zaheer was in and out. Harbhajan was injured as well. (Though he was not the best of form, the aussies would not have forgotten his calcutta and chennai heroics).
It was the opening partnership that led the confident to the middle order batsmen. The century of Ganguly at Brisbane that gives the confident. Had India have one all rounder, the results would have been 3-0 in favour of India. Many may find excuses like Aussies didn't have two bowlers, dropped catches. It happens with all teams. The young Team India did well and wish them for many more victories.
Test matches are really in the upswing now, credit goes to the australians especially Gilchrist in late 90's. I think India has joined the club of resurrecting the world test cricket.
