For the Good of the Game .... Review on India - Australia cricket series

The past few weeks have seen two fiercely competitive sides vying with each other for a trophy that is soon beginning to realize itself as being the modern era's equivalent to The Ashes. And what a series it has been, so many records tumbled, so many critics humbled. An amazing number of runs being scored in a magnificent display of batting by both sides brimming with talent [5384 runs, 2670 for Aus and 2692 for India]. A few splendid knocks by the greats of the modern game lead by'The Wall' Dravid, 'Punter' Ponting, the'Very Very Special' Laxman and of course the'Little Master' Tendlya coming good in the end, not to forget Anil'Jumbo' Kumble's amazing come back with 24 scalps [Three 5 wicket hauls and one 10 wickets in a match].

It was supposed to be Steve'Tugga' Waugh's farewell series and even in his wildest dreams, he perhaps couldn't have envisaged such drama and a memorable end to his magnificent career. He had a dream to succeed against India in their backyard. But the fact that he failed to do it even in his own for the last time, would still rankle him when he stops to think about it twenty years down the line. Make no mistakes, but India has won three times as opposed to once by Australia in the last five instances of the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

The series started off at The Gabba, Brisbane traditionally known for pitches favoring pace and everyone from the critics to the bookmakers expected India to go down without a fight, but one magnificent innings by Saurav'Dada' Ganguly [144 n.o] inspired by Greg Chappel's advice defied all perceptions and conveyed a message to the Green Camp that this is surely not going to be a walkover. A woeful decision by the'slow death' of cricket which goes by the name, 'Steve Bucknor' stole the headlines and rain made sure that the match did not have a result. But then, the Indians had arrived, it seemed to suggest and Tugga sensed it.

Then came the big one at The Adelaide Oval. The Kangaroos began in the right vein, smashing 400 in one single day thanks to a brilliant innings by Punter, who ended up on 242. They made 556 in the end with useful contributions from Katich(75) and Langer(58). India was on the mat at 85/4 when'The Wall' partnered with the very very special batsman from the land of Azhar(Hyd) to repeat the Eden magic. He batted and batted and then batted a little more till the Aussies almost wilted. He was the last to go on 233 and might have as well ended up not out. VVS scored a brilliant 148 as well and the Aussies did have a task on their hands. But how did they retaliate?  Reckless abandon. Agarkar struck and ended up with his best figures of 6/41. In trying to show that they are still a superior side, they ended up making  a mismatch of their second innings ending up 196 all out, and the Indians won it in grand style, Dravid again contributing with his 72 n.o which took him to the second place in the PWC ratings.

Australia won at the MCG, Melbourne in spite of a great innings by Veeru(195) and the series seemed tied at 1-1 setting up a great finale. This was India's turn to bungle up after their great start on day one. They just kept losing wickets on day two and Australia came up with some great performances by Punter(257) and Hayden(136). In the second innings Dravid and Ganguly did throw up a fight and with the little master not contributing, they just couldn't get the runs on the board and for the great batsmen from down-under it was easy meat.

At the SCG, SydneyIndia batted marvelously well to end up at 705/7 decl. It was the'Little Master'  Sachin's turn to contribute and he just stood there refusing to get out. Partnered with the ever reliable VVS(178), he scored 241 not out. The Aussies started off well but lost it midway and then with a useful contribution from Katich(125 great runs) and Gillespie seemed to save the match. If this partnership was broken, then India could have easily won the match. Not forcing the follow on was understandable, since India's only threatening bowler, Kumble(8-141) had begun to limp in the end. In the last innings it all boiled down to Steve Waugh and all his experience to save the test and he did a great job. The series ended 1-1, with the BG trophy still in India's hands, who could claim a moral victory if not anything more.

Memories and Milestones:

Steve Waugh handing over the ball to Dravid after taking pains to fetch it from the gutter and congratulating him.

Steve Bucknor's woeful umpiring in the first and the final test. Gavaskar's words of'Australia playing with 13 players' seemed to come to mind.

Billy Bowden's hilarious but entertaining behavior on the field after the final match and then denying claims that he was a clown.

Dravid's magnificent run: He scored 1, 43, 233, 72, 49, 92, 38, 91* adding up to  619 at 123.8 runs average. Man of the Series. Only Ponting scored more than him.

John Bucchanon's supposedly private letter to his players being leaked out.

Two partnership's in excess of 300 by Tendular and Laxman(SCG) and Dravid/Laxman(Adelaide).

Ponting's back to back double tons. Final tally of 706 runs at 100.85 avg.

The return of the Sachin the Master after his exit from the top ten. He finally averaged 73.6 which is amazing by any standards. His determination to play within his limits when he was having the worst run. He scored 241* and 60* in the final match taking his final tally to 383 at 73.6 avg.

Kumble's never give up attitude.(ended up with 24 wickets from 3 games)

The bantering between Swami Army and the Barmy army. It was fun to watch and read(courtesy Dee).

Steve Waugh retorting to Patel's attempts at sledging by, 'Look, show a little respect. You were in your nappies when I debuted'. .

VVS's dream like batting. He ended up with 492 runs at 82.3 avg. Even Sachin commented that he dare not play shots like him(Laxman). Very Very Special indeed.

Steve Waugh's farewell. Another great player  to retire from the game. One of the best batsmen ever to have played and the most successful captain, he had been an inspiration to cricketers all over the world. Have a good life, Tugga!

And of course, a great game of cricket. This series ended up as one of the finest in the history of the game without any instances of bringing disrepute in the name of sledging or name calling.

-damo-