Indians Thunder Down Under

Ishant Sharma : India's first genuine fast bowler

Finally, a one-day series win in Australia, on the back of a terrific Test series that not just Indian cricket fans believe, had all things (or may be just the umpiring) remained equal, would have gone India's way. Every time this Indian side has won in Australia, it has only driven home the unfairness at Sydney.

Lot of water has passed under the bridge since Sydney, though. India has had the measure of their hosts and more fancied opponents in both Tests as well as one-dayers, and in the process has emerged as a tough-as-nails Test unit and a combative, exciting one-day side.

There is much to celebrate. Sachin Tendulkar's return to prime batting form in both Tests as well as one-dayers. The emergence of Anil Kumble and Mahendra Singh Dhoni as two top draw captains for Test matches and the more fast and furious versions of cricket.

But perhaps the biggest cause of celebration is the emergence of Ishant Sharma as a genuine fast bowler. For the first time in the history of Indian cricket, there is a fast bowler who has crossed the 150km speed barrier. During this series, for the first time we saw an Indian fast bowler make top batsmen duck and weave with the bounce he was getting and the speed he was generating.

The high point in a series that saw many highs was surely the spell young Ishant bowled to Australian skipper Ricky Ponting on the fifth day of the Perth Test. Indians were looking for a win, and knew there was going to be no victory as long as Ponting was out in the middle. At a crucial moment of the match, Indian skipper hurled the ball to Ishant Sharma.

For the next one hour and a little more, the rookie made the master look like a novice. An inswinger cut Ponting in half, the next ball pitched at the same spot as the previous delivery, but swung the other way, beating Ponting comprehensively. Finally at the end of a nine-over long mesmerizing spell, another perfectly pitched outswinger took the edge of the Australian skipper's bat and ended Ponting's misery. India not only went on to record a famous victory, from that moment on there was a clear shift in momentum for the rest of the series.

Starting the Australia series as a rookie, Ishant Sharma ended it a couple of months later as India's new pace bowling spearhead. Once the two injured quick bowlers Zaheer Khan and RP Singh are back to their fitness, it would be interesting to see how a full strength Indian attack would fare against opposition batsmen.

If the bowling department has a healthy look about it, with the likes of Irfan Pathan, Sreesanth and Munaf Patel, the batting looks equally formidable. After a well earned rest following the tough Test series, the trio of Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman are ready to join their illustrious colleague Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian middle order as India readies to face off against South Africa at home. Now with the attacking Virender Sehwag once again restored at the top of the order, the Indian Test batting line up against most teams and on most wickets appears to be almost intimidating.

It is only in the fitness of things that Sachin Tendulkar is back as numero uno in ICC one-day rankings. He batted wonderfully during the Tests, then seemed to lose his way as the one day series began, and then in the first final at Sydney scored a classy matchwinning hundred. His well-crafted 91 set up the second win in Brisbane.

The ICC rankings for Test matches currently has Tendulkar in the 12th spot. But anyone who saw him bat in Australia recently would not question his position as the world's best batsman right now.

Following the success of the youthful Indian side in the one-day triangular series in Australia, the curtain seems to have been rung down on the one-day careers of Dravid and Ganguly. There is no stopping Tendulkar though. He remains the batting mainstay of a young Indian one-day side which can only get better with time.

The younger batsmen like Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa and Rohit Sharma may not inspire the sort of awe that the Indian Test batting line up does, but the young tyros did enough throughout the long one-day series to give Dhoni the confidence to drop the experienced Virender Sehwag and go with five specialist bowlers.

Gautam Gambhir finished as the top scorer in the triangular series, which included some of the world's finest batsmen -- Tendulkar, Ponting, Hayden, Symonds, Hussey, Jaywardane, and Sanghakara. Uthappa showed in the finals that he could play patiently too, giving fine starts in both Sydney and Brisbane. Earlier, on a few occasions, coming down the order he smashed the bowling all round the park.

Over the years, India has been reluctant to have different captain for one-dayers and Test matches. Now, more by accident and less by design, India has stumbled on to this winning combination of two astute skippers for Tests and one-dayers. If Anil Kumble was rather impressive first against Pakistan, and then in the tough tour of Australia, the younger Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India's young new one-day captain has shown a maturity in his batting and captaincy that belies his years.

In the process, India has concocted may be a winning recipe for success. These days cricket is played round the year. There is no concept of an off-season anymore. And the amount of cricket that is being played will only increase with the beginning of the new Twenty20 Indian Premier League from next month. With India now playing almost two different sides for Tests and one-dayers, India can have the rare luxury of fielding well-rested players for both versions of the game.

Only Tendulkar and Dhoni are regulars in both Tests as well as one dayers. Suddenly the Indian bench strength looks most impressive. There are enough fast bowlers to cover for the injured ones and there is healthy competition for the batting slots.

An Australian tour is usually a bruising experience for visiting players, both on and off the field. Indians have done very well to turn this experience to their advantage. The jury is still out on whether this series will mark the beginning of the decline of a cricketing superpower or the rise of another -- though there are some signs of both -- one thing is clear though. There is no contest in contemporary cricket quite like the India Australia rivalry.