The most amazing victory ever!

You might wonder if it's really appropriate for me to call India's victory at Perth as the most memorable victory ever for India. Well, I have my reasons for thinking in the affirmative and those reasons are quite overwhelming.

Going into the series, The Aussie record-chasing run notwithstanding, India had realistic chances of overpowering the Aussies. It's not that I am saying this as a typical "over-optimistic" Indian cricket fan, I'm saying it because India were just 2 wickets away from achieving the feat the last time around. And knowing that India went in the best batting line-up in the world right now, it wasn't entirely unreasonable to think about a series victory down-under.
With Australia winning the first test very convincingly India could very easily have clawed back into contention at Sydney had it not been for those unfortunate things that conspired there. Sydney Test was an absolute fiasco to say the least. The gravity of damage done by the incidents around that test can be felt by the fact that it is being compared with the Bodyline series - the worst advertisement for cricket if there was any! India could so easily have let their guard down after having lost that match and with that the prospect of winning the series. They could very well have let their interest slip by sympathizing with themselves especially as a vast majority of cricket followers around the world had acknowledged they had got a raw deal .

What makes Australia such a difficult country to travel to is the sheer fact that they have some of the fastest and bounciest tracks around. Perth is easily the worst wicket for a touring side to bat on. The wicket at WACA is generally tailor-made for Aussie fast bowlers to dismantle the opposition batting through sheer intimidation. It is bound to be more difficult for the sub-continental sides and it's a fact that no side from Asia had won at Perth before this test! The idea of Australia bringing in Shaun Tait to replace a fairly successful Brad Hogg was a testimony to the fact that they were leaving no stone unturned in keeping their record streak going. With the fast and furious Bret Lee and Stuart Clark, who bowls with a Mcgrath-like accuracy, Australia were easily the favourites going into the match.

With such odds against his side, Kumble's decision to bat first was looked at as being naive by most people. But that was a bold statement to say the least. And add to that, the idea of going with Sehwag, the dasher at the top clearly showed aggressive intentions. I had the feeling India had missed a big trick by keeping Sehwag out of the first two tests. And though Sehwag didn't go all guns blazing, he did give an idea what he brings to the table. A quick start of 40-50 runs with no loss can make huge difference and that's what was achieved by him at the top. Sachin, Dravid and Laxman did their bit with the bat through the match which is expected of seasoned men like them. But the victory was made possible by the young and probably the most inexperienced pace attack in the world right now. Irfan Pathan was back to his swinging best. What a reversal of fortunes for him since the 20-20 WC! RP Singh was not easy to counter. And Ishanth Sharma was such a revelation - though he didn't take too many wickets, the role he played was vital - getting rid of Ricky Ponting in the 2nd Innings, which was my turning point of the match.

India have gone from poor travelers in the last decade to successful ones mainly in this decade. They have won series in WI, England, Pakistan. But those victories had not been achieved in such sensationally charged atmosphere. Today India have beaten the World Champions at their home, quite convincingly. They have once again come in the way of the Aussie dream of a record-breaking streak. They've risen like a Phoenix in defying all the off-field distractions and achieved a near impossible feat. History apart, it's a victory that will be relished by all those who were left with a bitter taste in their mouths post Sydney test. Indians have one again shown they do have that killer spirit in them. Well done guys! Take a bow!