It is a satisfying victory against the Sri Lankans, who were completely outplayed by the men-in-blue. By this victory team-India also secured the much awaited no. 1 spot in the ICC Test Rankings.
The numero uno position is the result of the consistent performance of the Indian team in the last few years, especially under the reigns of Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. They both gave the side the much important ‘belief’ that they could also reach at the top.
India played 49 games under the leadership of Ganguly and the win-loss ratio was 21:13. MSD’s record as a skipper has been superb till now. Out of the 10 games under his captaincy, the side has won seven.
The comeback by the Indian side after their misadventure in the first innings of the first test match against Sri Lanka was stupendous. After that, they did not give any chance to their opponents to search their luck back in the series.
The most satisfying thing in this period of wins was the ‘attitude’ of the side. They might have failed in one innings or a test, but they always returned with a bang in the next one.
Batting Brilliance
After a longtime, India have got a good opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Virendra Sehwag. The way these two Delhiites complement each other is laudable. Sehwag would always give the side a brisk start and nice platform for the batsmen to follow him. Meanwhile, Gambhir would do his job of supporting him and if given an opportunity, he would strike few from the middle of his bat.
Rahul Dravid, ‘the wall’, would face any bowling attack in all conditions with complete ease. We all know the class of master blaster Sachin Tendulkar. VVS (very very special) Laxman would always silence his critics with a fine performance. He is one such batsman in the side who always found his place under the scanner, irrespective of the commitment and brilliance he always shows on the field. These three have given the much-needed support to the Indian middle order.
Though, Yuvraj Singh is still finding his feet in the Test side, he always ensured the team finishes their innings well, together with skipper MS Dhoni, who could shift his gears according to the situation of the game.
Indian tailenders have surely improved their batting skills. Habhajan Singh, along with Zaheer Khan, and others have shown the grit to stay at the wicket.
Bowling Performance
After Javagal Srinath, the Indian team has found Zaheer Khan to lead the pace attack. He has been supported well by Ajit Agarkar (till he was there in the side), Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma and others.
Zaheer’s exit from the side when Greg Chappell was at the helm of, proved decisive for this Mumbai bowler. He toiled hard in the domestic circuit and made full use of the opportunity he got in the county arena. He returned as a ‘thinking’ bowler.
Harbhajan, first with spin great Anil Kumble, till he hung his boots, and later on with Piyush Chawla, Amit Mishra and now Pragyan Ojha, has led the spin department of the side. I have always felt that Harbhajan is a better Test match bowler than an ODI. He, more or less, does the job of containing the batsmen in the fifty over format. But his ability to take wickets in the longest format of the game helped the side to reach this historic landmark.
The leader
Indian team has got the real leader in the form of MSD. His ability to remain calm even in the most extreme situations and capability to lead from the front whenever the team-members find themselves in dire straits, have already made him one of the successful captains that ever led India.
The sensible coach
Gary Kirsten proved more than a help for MSD since he has taken over from Anil Kumble. He understands his role in the side well and does not interfere unnecessarily in the team’s proceedings. The South African has also maintained a fair distance from the media, which was not the case with his predecessor, Greg Chappell. He guides the side and counsels the players more than coaching them. Just what John Wright did in his term with the side.
The no. 1 position may not stay for a long time as India will play only two Test matches in the next 11 months. But by reaching the acme for the first time, the blue brigade has shown what they are capable of when they play as a unit.
I think if they replicate this performance in the other forms of the game as well till the time they get their next chance in the longest form, then they will return here sooner rather than later. Because they know what it feels like being at no. 1.
The numero uno position is the result of the consistent performance of the Indian team in the last few years, especially under the reigns of Sourav Ganguly and Mahendra Singh Dhoni. They both gave the side the much important ‘belief’ that they could also reach at the top.
India played 49 games under the leadership of Ganguly and the win-loss ratio was 21:13. MSD’s record as a skipper has been superb till now. Out of the 10 games under his captaincy, the side has won seven.
The comeback by the Indian side after their misadventure in the first innings of the first test match against Sri Lanka was stupendous. After that, they did not give any chance to their opponents to search their luck back in the series.
The most satisfying thing in this period of wins was the ‘attitude’ of the side. They might have failed in one innings or a test, but they always returned with a bang in the next one.
Batting Brilliance
After a longtime, India have got a good opening pair of Gautam Gambhir and Virendra Sehwag. The way these two Delhiites complement each other is laudable. Sehwag would always give the side a brisk start and nice platform for the batsmen to follow him. Meanwhile, Gambhir would do his job of supporting him and if given an opportunity, he would strike few from the middle of his bat.
Rahul Dravid, ‘the wall’, would face any bowling attack in all conditions with complete ease. We all know the class of master blaster Sachin Tendulkar. VVS (very very special) Laxman would always silence his critics with a fine performance. He is one such batsman in the side who always found his place under the scanner, irrespective of the commitment and brilliance he always shows on the field. These three have given the much-needed support to the Indian middle order.
Though, Yuvraj Singh is still finding his feet in the Test side, he always ensured the team finishes their innings well, together with skipper MS Dhoni, who could shift his gears according to the situation of the game.
Indian tailenders have surely improved their batting skills. Habhajan Singh, along with Zaheer Khan, and others have shown the grit to stay at the wicket.
Bowling Performance
After Javagal Srinath, the Indian team has found Zaheer Khan to lead the pace attack. He has been supported well by Ajit Agarkar (till he was there in the side), Ashish Nehra, S Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma and others.
Zaheer’s exit from the side when Greg Chappell was at the helm of, proved decisive for this Mumbai bowler. He toiled hard in the domestic circuit and made full use of the opportunity he got in the county arena. He returned as a ‘thinking’ bowler.
Harbhajan, first with spin great Anil Kumble, till he hung his boots, and later on with Piyush Chawla, Amit Mishra and now Pragyan Ojha, has led the spin department of the side. I have always felt that Harbhajan is a better Test match bowler than an ODI. He, more or less, does the job of containing the batsmen in the fifty over format. But his ability to take wickets in the longest format of the game helped the side to reach this historic landmark.
The leader
Indian team has got the real leader in the form of MSD. His ability to remain calm even in the most extreme situations and capability to lead from the front whenever the team-members find themselves in dire straits, have already made him one of the successful captains that ever led India.
The sensible coach
Gary Kirsten proved more than a help for MSD since he has taken over from Anil Kumble. He understands his role in the side well and does not interfere unnecessarily in the team’s proceedings. The South African has also maintained a fair distance from the media, which was not the case with his predecessor, Greg Chappell. He guides the side and counsels the players more than coaching them. Just what John Wright did in his term with the side.
The no. 1 position may not stay for a long time as India will play only two Test matches in the next 11 months. But by reaching the acme for the first time, the blue brigade has shown what they are capable of when they play as a unit.
I think if they replicate this performance in the other forms of the game as well till the time they get their next chance in the longest form, then they will return here sooner rather than later. Because they know what it feels like being at no. 1.
I indeed mesmerised by the blog presented in such an outstanding manner. This shows an indepth knowledge of a particular field of the blogger in which he presented the things in an order that even a layman, who does not have much of idea about sports in general and cricket in particular, can find it quite interesting.
ReplyDeleteKeep writing, I wish to see you at the epitome of your desire and ambition.
Thanking you,
Prabhat
like the part about kirsten maintaining a distance frm d media. i feel coaches like javed miandad who guide a player more than required on field (i am referring to the t-20 match between india n pak where the suicidal shot by misbah-ul-haq made us win, we did not deserve to win dat one but miandad's antics were visible correct me if m wrong) and like greg are d wrong choices
ReplyDeleteWell written..It was interesting as well as important to mention about the indefinite crown team India is sworned..also I liked the part that talks about the bowling and the how do the bowlers perform..Wish you happy writing..looking forward2c more of them..
ReplyDelete