The damp dust has finally settled on a month of high-profile cricket. India against Australia is indeed the biggest spectacle in the cricketing world besides the World Cup.
The Ashes and the sub-continental tussle between India and Pakistan may have their strong emotional resonance among millions of fans but there is something about sighting the baggy green that stirs dormant fires among the Indians and grants infinite delight to delirious fans.
M.S. Dhoni's men have done something that remains the favourite fantasy of other teams — drub Australia in a series.
Agreed that India played just two Tests and a lone ODI against the visitor and a short-term joust is not a clear yardstick to judge a team's dominance or capitulation.
To add to the drama, the Australians keep saying that it was just a matter of one ball at Mohali but there is no denying due credit to the way the Indians raised their game and snuffed out all the challenges.
Enormous self-belief
Be it a back-to-the-wall scenario at Kolkata in 2001 or the recent Mohali Test, India has always found a way forward against Australia with V.V.S. Laxman emphasising that all things are possible when he is around.
The seniors with Sachin Tendulkar shining the brightest and the junior crop marshalled adroitly by skipper Dhoni, have melded well and they share an enormous self- belief that chips away the awe that is often bequeathed to the Australian team.
Also in the latest ODI series that was reduced to a lone game after the rain played spoilsport at Kochi and Margao, India refused to blink first against a mounting asking rate and the loss of its openers at Visakhapatnam. Instead hope was saddled onto Virat Kohli (118) and he lived up to the faith despite the cramps in his legs.
In the earlier Tests at Mohali and Bangalore, the senior trio of Tendulkar (403 runs), Zaheer Khan (12 wickets) and Harbhajan (11) may have done the hard yards but there is no discounting the efforts of Ishant Sharma as a resilient tail-ender and Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara's confidence that shimmered across their bats.
Dhoni pointed out the team effort that added value to India's dominance against Australia.
“We did well in the Test series because not only the batsmen and bowlers but also the part-timers contributed. The lower order batsmen stood when needed and at the same time the youngsters grabbed the opportunities thrown to them,” the skipper said.
India remains the number one team in Tests and in ODIs, stays at the second slot behind Australia.
It is no mean achievement for a team that is coping with transition, injury worries and the pressure of expectations.
Minor blips
A few minor blips do remain. India can always improve as a fielding unit and bowling at the death in ODIs remains a concern. Harbhajan remains the lead spinner and though Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra have progressed, they need to do more as spinning allies.
The senior combine of Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag averaged 37.33 and 28.25 respectively in the Test series but that is no cause for alarm and it is just a matter of time before they roar back to their prolific best.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand series is almost upon us and will commence on November 4.
The visitor may have suffered the horrors in Bangladesh but India, satiated with the triumph against Australia, should keep complacency at bay.
“What will be important is the utilisation of the four to five days break that we have got and then concentrate on the Test series (against New Zealand),” Dhoni said as he and his team get ready for the long haul that will hopefully find its most-special moment in next year's World Cup.
