The Indians completed the victory over Australia in the second finals, winning it convincingly 2-0. The third final was not required and the Indian team returned back home for some well-deserved rest. The team was given a fabulous welcome and checks were given to all the team members. But, there are some who deserve the credit equally:

• the selectors who chose the youngsters. They respected the domestic performances and picked players like Praveen Kumar, Suresh Raina and Manoj Tiwary, thereby encouraging the younger generation to take the Ranjis and Duleep Trophys more seriously.
• the BCCI (not kidding) for having thought of a performance-based revenue system which will reward the ones who perform and also pull them up when they dont.
• the BCCI (once again) for bringing in changes to the domestic game that has introduced true wickets. This has ensured that batsmen dont score heavily on placid wickets against bowling that dont sting.
• the support staff for planning the entire series thoroughly. Each batsman’s dismissal was planned and the execution was monitored to the last detail.
• the captain, last but not the least, for sticking his neck out by picking a young team. He asked for fresher blood that could bring in more agility on the field, sacrificing the established seniors. He played knocks that are not characteristic with his original style, ensuring that the team crosses the winning line.

The question on everyone’s mind then is whether this was the best ever win in ODI’s? Probably not. Though everyone will mention the 1983 World Cup, I would select the 1985 World Championship in Australia. The 1983 win was initially an outside chance that India had to win the Cup. Nobody thought that they could do any damage in the tournament - hence, the expectations were almost nil. Things changed after the 1983 World Cup and in the 1985 tournament they were one of the favorites. And what a performance they produced!!! The bowlers took all the wickets in all matches (except the final, where they missed by one). They were well supported on the field and in the batting department. The expectations on any side is always a heavy force to reckon with. That they could surpass all the obstacles on the field means that this was the best ever win.

This win would rank third, right behind the two World championships. Of course, the Twenty20 win was also good - though one could argue that this was the shortest version of the game, which probably no team had taken seriously, even the Indians.

The South African team is next on the cards. India must ensure that the win in Australia doesnt stay on in their minds. The ODI series win and the great performances in the test series are now history. The players must forget it quickly without losing the lessons learnt during the same. With the next 2-3 weeks, they should be given sufficient rest so that they can come back with recharged batteries. Only if they defeat the Proteans convincingly, would there be an acceptance in the cricketing circles that the Indian team is capable of being one of the best in the world.

Few days before his 25th birthday, Sachin Tendulkar played a blinder of an innings in Sharjah against Australia in 1998, taking the indian team to the finals of the tournament (that was followed by another beauty in the finals, helping India seal the tournament). 10 years later, when he is on the verge of his 35th birthday, he scored a quality century winning the first final of the triangular series.

Many people had doubted Sachin Tendulkar’s temperament while chasing. They said that he usually didnt score in a major finals. India had not won a match against Australia in Sydney, forget winning any match in the triangular series finals. Nobody gave a chance to the Indian team to put it across the Australians today, including me.

Sachin Tendulkar showed what a great man he is, by taking the Indian team to the finishing line. He ensured that Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson were not given early wickets, by playing straight and risk-free. Of course, who could forget the innovative strokes above the slip’s head that he has been hitting consistently this tour. The asking rate never went above Six an over. Everytime the rate was threatening to increase, Sachin and Rohit Sharma scored boundaries to keep the rate down. Sachin must have been very pleased to get a century today after his various attempts in the last year.

Rohit Sharma played a great knock on his own. He must have learnt quite a bit by playing alongside his childhood hero. It was as though Sachin was handing over the mantle to the youngster. Both tutor and pupil came together in a century partnership, taking India past the time when there was a risk that there might be a flurry of wickets. The pair played well together, running the singles hard and talking to each other frequently. Sachin was literally guiding the youngster through the partnership.

This match showed that experience does play a part, even though the youngsters are doing their best. This was one opportunity where Gambhir and Uthappa could not get going. Similarly, Irfan Pathan could do nothing right. But, Harbhajan alongwith the find of the tour, Ishant Sharma, reduced the Aussie run-rate from the heights of almost six to a more reasonable five. The inclusion of Piyush Chawla proved to be a master-stroke from Dhoni, since nobody from the Aussie team had seen him bowl earlier. It turned out to be a calculated master-stroke with the bowlers reducing the Australian team to a chaseable score.

No praise must be too much for MS Dhoni. He asked for a team that would add value in terms of better agility on the field and backed them throughout. Gautam Gambhir, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa are the examples of how the captain has mentored the youngsters in this difficult tour. Following Anil Kumble’s class act during the test series, MS has gone one notch higher in meeting the Aussies heads-on. When the Aussies got in return more than what they gave to the Indians, they didnt know what hit them.

The Australian top-order, as has been seen throughout the series, failed once again. It was left to the experience of Hayden and Hussey to take them through. Whenever India and Australia played against each other in Sydney this season, there has always been a number of incidents either from the players or the umpires. This time also, the decision against Michael Clarke was wrong. It was symmetrically opposite to that of Andrew Symonds in the test match. It was India’s turn to get the rub of the green and they would not be complaining.

What it means is that the Indians go into the second finals, leading 1-0. The Aussies lost the triangular series last year, against the English team under Paul Colingwood. It remains to be seen whether the Aussies can come back against the Indians by winning the second final. For that to happen, their batting and bowling has to come to the party. And, more importantly, leave the chatter behind in the dressing room rather than the field.

After the grand auction was completed, there were quite a few surprises in the selection of teams and more on the amount of money spent on the cricketers. While some of them like Dhoni and Symonds might have secretly expected a payment similar to what they finally landed, others like Ishant Sharma, David Hussey would have been thrilled at such a windfall.

The Bangalore team has done a thoughtful job of selecting the players who are multi-utility in nature and also those who are likely to play the inaugural season, something that the other teams have not considered. The Aussie players are not in the contention for the first season - simply because of their Pakistan tour. In this context, was it worth the amount of money that was spent on their regular players? Even if they dont play, those who have signed the contract stand to gain 25% of the amount that was promised. This seems to be a bit on the higher side.

Overall, cricket as a game is slowly becoming a profession of choice in India, with the money available. Few decades back, it used to be the passion of the youngsters that would decide the career. Of course, there are plenty of stories of how players had to fight against their parents to let them play the game that they love. Now, the financial viability is no longer left to be proved. This might lead to more players embracing the game. Let us see how it pans out in the near future.

The other question that remains is how financially profitable this entire venture will be? Will it be a win-win situation for all the stakeholders involved? BCCI, the franchises and players. Obviously the players stand to gain but it remains to be seen how the profitability of BCCI and the franchises will work out. Innovative ideas will be worked out, so that the franchises can make use of their million-dollar players in their ranks.

With all the money being splashed around, the talks of long cricketing schedules have gone out of the window. No longer are cricketers mentioning about how the IPL will eat into the time between tours. This only shows that cricketers are also humans and they would also like themselves to be paid reasonably for the efforts they put in on the field.

Another interesting point arises then. What happens if a star player gets injured in the IPL tournament. Who will foot his bill? Will it be the BCCI or the player’s country? Also, if the injuries turn to be serious, it can lead to players not being able to turn out for the country in the international games. This is another aspect that all countries would do well to think about. So far, they have been agreeing for the IPL format, as they too stand to gain from the tournament (BCCI has agreed to share some of the spoils with them).

Twenty20 as a game has finally emerged now - after the World Cup was staged last year, this is the next prominent step. It remains to be seen if this format is used to the best impact or is it being treated just like the proverbial golden goose?

From what is on display in the 3-team series in Australia, it is pretty evident that the bowlers have an edge over the batsmen. This is not true in case of India alone. Even Australia and SriLanka have benefited from their bowlers good form as compared to their batters. Is it a new trend? The return of the battered bowlers? Or is it confined only to the true wickets of Australia? Let us evaluate each teams to see if it is indeed the fact?

The hosts Australia have lost quite of their frontline bowlers last season - Shane Warne, Glenn Mcgrath being the most prominent. Brett Lee, however, has risen to the occasion and proved that he is indeed the leader of the current pack. Nathan Bracken has been miserly in all his spells and benefited from the Lee-effect on the other end. Batsmen usually try to take advantage of Bracken’s slower pace and lose their wickets. The supporting cast of Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark have done a decent job in ensuring the opposition batsmen dont get away after the initial spells. The batsmen, however, have not been so consistent. Gilchrist has been scoring in spurts, in what is his last ODI season. Ricky Ponting has been going through one of the rarest slumps for a long time. Clarke, Symonds have done well but not continuously enough. Michael Hussey as well, must be feeling that the rest of the world are getting to know his style better. Hayden has not been able to repeat his test form as of now. Maybe it is just a matter of form before Hayden and Ponting start firing again.

The Indians had a good test series where the Famous Five ensured that the Australians were given a tough fight. Things were expected to be different in the ODI series as only Sachin Tendulkar remained in the squad. RP Singh and Zaheer Khan as well, were not part of the ODI squad. But, who would have imagined that Ishant Sharma would rise to be the leader of the pack. Sreesanth has provided the aggro at the other end, so that after a long time India has 2 fast bowlers - the word fast actually reflecting the pace they are generating off the pitch rather than just fillers. Irfan Pathan has offered swing at a decent pace, which has unsettled most of the batsmen. Harbhajan Singh has performed better in the ODI matches than the test series. The Indian batsmen have done better than what was expected - the standout performers being Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni. Sachin Tendulkar and Viru Sehwag have got off to good starts but not gone on to score heavily. Yuvraj Singh, Robin Uthappa have not fired as of yet.

The Lankans have managed to restrict the Aussies to manageable scores in the matches against them, particularly Vaas and Malinga. With variations in pace, they have done a good job. Their supporting cast of Maharoof, Amerasinghe, Kapudagera have done damage control - in fact, ensured that Murali’s bad form is not felt by the team. The batting has not blossomed just like the bowlers. Sanath Jayasuriya has started off like a runaway train but in only short spurts. Sangakkara and Dilshan have shown glimpses of form, whereas the others in the batting order have struggled to get off the rails.

The pitches have made sure that the batsmen cannot score heavily, like the subcontinental pitches. There is equal chance to both the batsmen and bowlers on these tracks. This makes the contests more even, unlike high-scoring boring matches. The ones that do well in this series, are definitely the ones to watch in the near future.

The recent retirement of Adam Gilchrist will weaken the Australian team much more, after the last seasons high-profile good-byes. The Australian management would like the other teams to believe that they are not weakened by his retirement. Brad Haddin would be the front-runner for the position of the Aussie wicket-keeper. But, even he will agree that the shoes of Gilly are too big for his comfort. Though he has done well in the limited opportunities he has received so far, a full-time job would put more pressure on him. Typically, filling in for a regular player does not pressurize any batsman - for it is known that once the player recovers from injury/illness, he would take over his normal duties. Haddin is in a similar situation to that of Yuvraj Singh recently.

The Aussie middle-order of Hussey, Clarke, Symonds have not been able to match the exploits of the previous generation - Waugh brothers, Damien Martyn. Mr. Cricket has shown that he has his weaknesses in batting also - look at his batting averages in the current series against India for proof. Though it is much better than most of the other players in the series, it is less than the heights that he had set during his initial period. Clarke and Symonds have done well in this series - Clarke in fact, scoring 2 centuries in the series.

Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist have not managed to get the scoreboard ticking to a great extent. This has also resulted in the Aussie team under pressure during various points in the series. They have managed to get away from Matthew Hayden’s presence at the top of the order. Once the big fella announces his retirement, Australia will struggle to get off to a good start. This was in evidence during the Perth test match, where two new openers perished in both innings to the swing and seam of Indian bowlers. Phil Jacques has done in the test series against Sri Lanka and India this season. How he will perform in his next season is a question - considering that the bowlers all over will have worked out his weakness areas.

The Aussie bowling have shown some glimpses of the old. But, they have not been able to repeat the exploits of an attack like Glenn Mcgrath, Jason Gillespie, Brett Lee, Shane Warne. Brett Lee has put his hand up to fill in the leadership position, but the others have not shown the same abilities. The spinner slot, especially, is still a question - Brad Hogg seems to bat better than his bowling. Macgill is out due to injury. There is no other quality spinner coming down the production line - this is precisely the reason why Shane Warne has been contracted by the Aussie Board to identify young spinners.

It may not be such a concern just yet. The Aussies might still win the final test against India to finish 3-1. But, the Indians have shown the gaps in various areas in the mighty Australian team. They are no longer the Invincibles that everyone held in awe. The Indians have given a blueprint to the rest of the teams on how the mighty can be beaten. Will the others take the clues and improve their own game plans? Every one hopes and wishes that they do so. This will ensure that the playing field is levelled for all teams.

After the Sydney test match, the Indians must be feeling what else is required to stop the Aussie parade. There is not much opposition to the fact that the world record of continuous wins, established by Steve Waugh’s Australians, will be broken in the Perth test match. The Indians would do well to contest this test in the same spirit as the Sydney test rather than lose sleep on the surface that will be prepared.

The Perth test has an interesting history to it. After the Indians drew the series last time they were in Australia, when the time came for the iterinary to be written for the 2007-08 series, the Perth venue was supposedly the first one listed by the Aussie Board. Obviously, they see this as one of the sureshot victories as part of the series. From the Indian perspective, it is important that they dont lose the battle in their minds. They have gained ground by coming back from the humiliating loss in the Melbourne test. Anil Kumble will do well to instruct and cajole his team to keep improving and concentrate on pulling one back.

From the team composition, it looks like Yuvraj Singh will sit out. Looks like his personal life is creating havoc over his cricketing one. During the World Cup (50-overs in West Indies), it was rumored that he split with his longtime girl-friend Kim. This was stated as one of the reasons why he didnt perform well then. Now, it is the linking of the new Bollywood superstar Dipika Padukone which has made his visits to the crease so brief. Love and Yuvraj probably dont go well together on the cricket field!!!

Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan are the candidates who might get a chance in the Perth test. Wasim Jaffer might miss out even though he scored a fifty in the warm-up match. He doesnt seem to be the confident batsman who did well in the Pakistan series. Irfan can provide good backup in the batting department while bolstering the bowling attack. Harbhajan Singh might play, on what is predicted to be tbe fastest pitch in the world, as the bounce typically helps his style of bowling. Ishant Sharma has been improving every game and his bowling is similar to Javagal Srinath in the 1991-92 series - the huge inswingers is so identical!!!

Gary Kirsten will join the team and that means good news to the team. There has been no news on whether the Indians managed to meet the psychologist in Oz land. This will definitely make their minds stronger and focus clearly on the task ahead. Especially Bhajji. The way he has been ‘targeted’ by the Aussies in mind-games - he must be wishing he was in some other place. If not him, it was sure that the Aussies were looking forward to Sreesanth - both of them are known to be emotionally fragile and ready to take up the challenge thrown by the Aussies. But for Sree’s injury, he could not participate in this tour - which made Bhajji the sitting duck for the Aussies.

On the Aussie eleven, it looks like Matthew Hayden and Brad Hogg might sit out, depending on their comebacks from injuries. That will give chances to Chris Rogers and Shaun Tait. India will welcome these changes since Hayden and Hogg have troubled them many times during the first two tests. It is interesting to see how the Aussie coach takes care of the team mentally. The Sydney test and the furore later must have been quite different to what an Aussie team normally goes through after a 100-run win!!!

There will be a lot of banter on the field surely and the spirit in which the first test was played will not be present. But, the teams will do well to remember that it is a game of cricket and carry on with their tasks, in the way the great game should be played.

The three additional players on the Australian team were none from their playing staff - they were the three umpires who were officially part of the match. They conspired against the Indians on many decisions to make the match a record-equalling 16th victory for the Aussies. These decisions were quite crucial in the context of the match:
* Ricky Ponting was given not out when he edged one from Sourav Ganguly to MS Dhoni. Ponting was 18 at that instant. He went on to make 55, sharing a fifty-run partnership with Hussey.
* Ricky Ponting again - this time he was given lbw to a ball from Harbhajan that showed a big inside-edge. Mike Benson was the erring official on both the occasions.
* Andrew Symonds - When he was on 30, he snicked one from Ishant Sharma to MS Dhoni. Steve Bucknor had not heard the nick that even members sitting in the stands could.
* Andrew Symonds - On 55, MS Dhoni stumped him of the bowling of Anil Kumble. But, the third umpire (for a change) ruled in the favour of the batsman.
* Andrew Symonds - After scoring his century, he was stumped by MS Dhoni off Harbhajan Singh. Steve Bucknor did not have the patience to call for the third umpire!!!
* Wasim Jaffer - He was bowled by Brett Lee of a no-ball. This is probably an occurence that happens frequently on the cricketing field. Probably, not glaring as that of the others.
* Rahul Dravid - The decisive decision on the final day - given caught behind off Symonds when the ball grazed past the pads. The bat was tucked well behind the pads as the replays suggested. Steve Bucknor being the culprit again.
* Sourav Ganguly - Unlucky on two counts - the ball appeared to be a bump ball and Clarke grounded it after he had caught it. But, the umpire Benson thought he should consult the opposing captain Ricky Ponting for clarification instead of his square-leg counterpart or the third umpire. Again, an important decision in the context of the game for Sourav had scored 51 and was looking good for more.

The Aussies on their part, seemed to be bent on winning it any way possible and not the right way. This was evident in the way Ricky Ponting behaved during the last appeal. Also, the way Michael Clarke stood his ground when he had in fact edged to first slip of Anil Kumble showed that the Aussies have the tendency to stoop low when the going gets tough.

Is this the way they wanted to equal their earlier record of 16 wins? The Champion teams should show that they are capable of winning it fairly and be willing to correct a wrong decision if they see one. It is sad that this team does not want to play in the right spirit. For this aspect alone, this team stands below Steve Waugh’s Australians or Clive Lloyd’s Windies.