THE TRIUMPH OF TEST CRICKET 
India's emphatic Test victory over mighty Aussies
BY VIMAL KUMAR

After the match fixing scandal, cricket in India has reached its lowest popularity graph. Cricket itself needed a tremendous receipe to recuperate from the ghost of Match – fixing. Thanks to some incredible brand of Cricket played by the Indian and the Australian team, Cricket re-gained its glory in this country.

What a series! Even in dream,  you can’t think of it! The most hyped series of the recent decades not only lived up to its hype but also went many miles further to revive the over-all interest in the Test Cricket.  So it’s was only fixing that Steve Waugh told that winning is important but sometimes it is not every things. How true he is!

They way Australian decimated Indians inside three days in Mumbai Test and before the Laxman Draid partnership happened in Calcutta, it seemed all two predictable. The formidable Aussies and the defident Indians seemed quite unmatched for the contest. But, the way things began to change from the IIIrd day of Calcutta Test; one was really amazed to see the greatest truism of Cricket coming true. That“the game is full of glorious uncertainties”.

Lot of things happened, which can only be said as the glorious uncertainties of the game. Be it the mesmerizing magic of Harbhajan or the golden partnership between laxman and Dravid.The aussies were over-whelmed in a manner, even the staunchest of the Indian fan couldn’t have hoped for could have they?

At the end of the day, no one seemed to bother who was the winner. Of course, the Indian team’s victory is something astonishingly extraordinary, but more than that it is the victory of Test Cricket.

THE INDIAN REPORT CARD

At the end of the Test–series, we are producing the report cards of the Indian players. Look, how they all fared.

1. Laxman: - The elegant Hyderabadi took inspiration from his dazzling 167 at Sydney and created history for India. This man’s approach and attitude revolutionsed the Indians and changed the whole complexion of the series. Stupendous performance by any standard. Deserves to get 10 out of 10.

2. Harbhajan Singh: - When the whole nation was ruing the absence of Anil Kumble, the emergence of Harabhajan Singh in this series will remain of the greatest story, we would like to narrate to our grand children!. A truly incredible exhibition of spin-bowling.32 wickets in the series puts him in the same bracket with Laxman. A Harbhajan, too, deserves to get 10 out of 10.

3. Rahul Dravid: - The tragic irony with Dravid is that whenever he plays a superb knock, more often than not it is over- shadowed by another brilliant knock by the others.  Be it his big one day hundred against New Zealand or his best ODI score against SriLanka, he was over shadowed by Sachin and Sourav, on both occasions. Of course, laxman’s innings has no parallel but equally true is the fact that Dravid’s Contribution in the series was also one of the deciding factors. His classic 181 at Calcutta and refreshingly aggressive 81 at Chennai gives him 9 and ½ out of 10.

4. Sachin Tendulkar: - His half–centuries in Mumbai went unnoticed. He didn’t click in Calcutta. So what? The leg spinner Sachin compensated that in Calcutta. And his first innings’ century at chepauk confirmed that he really has a love affair with Chennai.  The most committed Cricketer of India too deserves to get 9 and ½ out of 10.

5. Sourav Ganguly: - Not with standing his repeated failures with the bat, the Bengal Tiger did a mike Braerly in this series. Due to his aggressive and innovative captaincy, fiercely competitive attitude he get a handsome 6 and ½ out of 10.

6. Das And Ramesh: - The Indian Opener’s fifty Partnerships laid the foundation of a Miracle in Calcutta in the Second innings. In Chennai, both did their bit by contributing significantly with the bat. Their fielding also provides them some bonus marks. They, too, deserve to get 6 and ½ out of 10.

7. Mongia and Dighe: - Mixed performances. May get 5 out of 10.

8. The fast Bowlers: - Not much was expected from them and neither did they perform decently. Still, on occasions they proved to be handy 5 out of 10.

9. The left armers: - The way India changed its left-armers, it seemed it was Mr. India contest. Poor by any Yardstrick.3 out of 10.

10. The leg spinners: - India’s desperate attempt to find the replacement for Anil Kumble was futile. Same as the left armers. 3 out of 10.