All done and dusted

After the dust settles down, this contest will go down as one of the best in recent times. The stage was set for a major showdown, and boy, did we have one! In a series which proved that Test cricket will always retain its place as the King Of Sports inspite of the emergence of T20, India clashed with Australia in a date to remember.

India’s tour Down Under had it all...brilliant batting, great bowling, commendable fielding (so what if it was by just 1 team!) and controversy thrown in for good measure.

Monkey calls, court hearings, disputed catches, umpires who refused to lift their fingers, one captain who thought only 1 side played with the spirit of the game and his opposing number who spit venom on anyone who doubted his integrity added plenty of spice to the contest that in my opinion, stands side-by-side with the Ashes as the game’s blue ribbon rivalry.

In the end, Australia emerged victorious, but not after India gave them a mighty run for their money. Victory came at the expense of the first home defeat in 5 years, a record- equalling streak for the most consecutive Test wins ever halted at the final frontier (does it ring a bell, Steve Waugh?) and above all, allegations of un-sportsmanlike behaviour. The winning habit might’nt have changed, but the method for achieving it sure has. The famous Aussie trait of skittling out oppositions with a killer attitude was surprisingly absent for most part of the series. It’s no longer ‘’Oh we’ll just chew ‘em and spit ‘em out, mate,’’ ‘’suffocation’’ seems to be the buzzword with Australian squads these days. A look at the 4 tests proves this:

Melborne: Aus win due to toothless Indian batting;

Sydney: Need one say more?

Perth: Oh well let’s just say Aussie fans wouldn’t want to remember this bit!

Adelaide: Visibly slow batting in both innings by Aus, coupled with a slow over rate

All said and done, both the squads should give themselves a pat on the back for treating the great game’s spectators to a scorching summer of cricket. All of this sets up things nicely for this October, when the ‘Roos turn up in India to keep the Border-Gavaskar trophy in their cabinet.