Team India was served well by all its members and it will be very hard to give credit to any one particular individual for the triumph. However, young Ishant Sharma was outstanding right through, so was Zaheer Khan, and they both dispelled the general notion that spinners would do the maximum damage against the Australians.
The Indians have enthralled the Nation with outstanding performances in the recent series against Australia thereby regaining the Border Gavaskar Trophy. It was a hard- fought series which produced some very high quality cricket in keeping with the trend that has become the hallmark of Indo-Australia encounters in recent times.
Team India was served well by all its members and it will be very hard to give credit to any one particular individual for the triumph. However, young Ishant Sharma was outstanding right through as was Zaheer Khan and they both dispelled the general notion that spinners would do the maximum damage against the Australians. While Zaheer Khan has considerable experience, Ishant proved to be a very fast learner as far as skills and cricketing acumen are concerned. His ability to sustain his hostility and make the ball reverse was admirable and the young man has given the confidence that he will go on to become a big force to reckon with in international cricket.
There were a lot of reasons for Team India and its fans to celebrate at the conclusion of the series, but at the same time there are at least a couple of reasons that provide for a lot of thought and for emotions to run high. Of course, the retirement of Kumble and Ganguly has left a big void in the spin department and middle order respectively.
The skipper Kumble surprised everyone with his decision that came earlier than expected though it is common knowledge that his injury prompted him to hasten his announcement. The faithful servant of Indian cricket for close to two decades left the stage at his own behest and his exit was rather emotional given that he was treated rather indifferently at the start of the series. He was as dignified as one would expect him to be till the very end and did not stoop down to hit out at his critics who portrayed him to be an unwanted attachment in the Indian score sheet. An era came to an end at the very venue where he reached his zenith in international cricket. Kumble’s commitment and his stoic temperament is folklore as far as Indian cricket is concerned but he has carved a niche for himself in international cricket with his outstanding achievements earned through sheer grit and a never-say-die attitude.
Though Kumble’s announcement was not expected at the Kotla, another popular cricketer Sourav Ganguly made it his last series against Australia once he knew that he would not be an automatic choice as he used to be a season ago. The ‘Prince of Kolkata’ went out at a time when people would probably ask why rather than why not and since his exit from the game was known much earlier, his huge fan following was hoping that he would score a century in his last Test. The elegant left-hander missed the distinction by a mere 15 runs which was a big disappointment to the player himself and his fans. However, Ganguly would leave the game a satisfied man as he would be remembered as one who took the Indian team to a different level in terms of winning abroad and meeting fire with fire.
The ‘Prince of Kolkata’ is highly regarded by his teammates and more so by his protégés like Harbhajan, Yuvraj, Sehwag, Zaheer and the like as he backed them to the hilt in their early days in international cricket. The ‘Dada’ moulded a young team into an aggressive unit which was not averse to taking on the best and challenging them. The high quality of cricket in an India-Australia series was an outcome of the aggression that rubbed off on the Indian team from their skipper Ganguly at the start of the new millennium. There has been no reduction in either the quality or excitement since then when these two countries play each other.
Amidst all the drama, excitement and hoopla, two highly acclaimed cricketers with different temperaments and different specialties left the game and it will take sometime for the real impact of their retirement to sink in as filling the huge vacuum they have left will take a long time.
Ganguly’s slot might have many contenders as young batsmen like Badrinath, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina to name a few have been waiting in the wings and with Tendulkar, Laxman and Dravid still there, the batting scenario might be managed. It is in the spin department that Team India will feel the pinch as Kumble was successful not only over a long period of time, but against every country at home and abroad. The promise shown by Amit Mishra is encouraging but the young man has a long way to go as yet.
It will take some time for the followers to come to terms with an Indian scorecard sans Kumble and Ganguly. Well done Sourav and Jumbo, you both provided a lot of pleasure for a long time and I wish you both the very best in life post retirement.
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