India trounces Australia at Mohali

Earlier today at Mohali, India beat Australia by 320 runs in the second test of the Border-Gavaskar trophy series to go 1-0 up with 2 more matches remaining. This is India’s largest victory margin in terms of runs (i.e. not counting innings victories). That it comes against Australia is sweeter. But sweetest of all is the manner in which every single player contributed to craft this win. Ganguly and Dhoni shone with the bat in both innings, building on a good start provided by Sehwag and Gambhir. The speed with which Sehwag, Gambhir, Dhoni and Ganguly scored on Day 4 demonstrated a rarely-seen sense of urgency by Team India. Zaheer Khan was absolutely brilliant, producing some deadly spells of reverse swing. He was ably supported by fellow fast bowler Ishant Sharma and the wily spin of Harbhajan Singh and debutatnt Amit Mishra, who had a five-wicke haul in the first innings and picked up two scalps in the second. Dhoni and Sehwag took sharp catches and overall, the fielding was much better than what was on display at Bangalore last week. Indeed, Ponting was forced to admit that his team was outplayed in every department of the game.

So what happened to the Australians? Well, they fell prey to the same laws that cause business cycles and in the past, have caused the decline and fall of once-mighty empires. Essentially, half of the side- their best players over the past decde or so- have recently retired. Their replacements do not yet have the experience. It is a normal process of rebuilding. But yes, Symonds’ absence definitely has hurt them. As also Stuart Clark’s injury and Bryce McGain’s forced return to Oz.

Ponting has stated that the clear week they have before the 3rd test at Delhi gives them enough time to recoup, re-strategize and prepare. Knowing the Australians, it would be foolish to dismiss this as mere bravado. But then again, if anyone had predicted at the start of the Mohali match that Australia would lose by over 300 runs, that person too would have been dismissed.

Whether Kumble will come back to one of his favorite hunting grounds (the Kotla) is a function of his fitness. But with the emergence of leg spin bowlers like Amit Mishra who are not afraid to flight the ball, one can reasonably hope that the future of Indian cricket is brighter than one might have expected it to be. And remember that if Australia is rebuilding now, soon, India too will bid adieu to its Fab Five. The BCCI must be complimented for its bold policy of blooding young talent. No doubt, the IPL has played a part too.