Finally the Indian Cricket team has reached the heights that it promised to achieve but always flattered when within catching distance. Finally a decade long quest to attain the top spot in the rankings has be achieved, though the team could have finished the year in first place in Test and ODI's(they could have won 4 of the 5 games against Australia, but ended up winning only 2 and losing 2 by 3 runs). But still its a commendable feat to say that the team will be finishing the year in top spot(probably).
I remember watching the India-Australia Series in Australia almost a decade ago when the Australian team was laying its claim to be the best in the world. They were totally decimated, and the team had a famous tag line when went with them "Tigers at home, Kittens away". well, no longer. The new look team India is no longer a team which depends on one person. It all started with the Australia's tour of India, Ganguly's First as captain, the famous victories in Kolkata and Chennai(one of the best Test series that i have witnessed, on par with The Ashes, which England won in 2005). If that ill-fated tour of Australia in 1999-2000 taught many players harsh lessons about the game and the rub of the green, then it was the next visit there that really laid the platform for what India have gone on to achieve since. Having overcome the improbable odds to thwart Steve Waugh's quest for Indian glory a couple of years earlier, India went into the series without being overawed or intimidated. With a little more luck on the final day at the SCG, they could even have won under Sourav Ganguly's captaincy. Whatever you say about Sourav Ganguly, he was one person who added steel to the Indian Claws, making them tigers from cubs they actually were. He instilled in the team a spirit of defiance which is carried on by Dhoni and his men now.
The ascent, though achieved, was not smooth. Quiet a lot of off field issues have been witnessed, the dismal show the the world cup, Sydneygate, Ganguly-Chappel Spat, Kumble Retirement to name a few. But nothing has affected the players on field performance. Even with all that the objective has been achieved. Sachin Tendulkar , India's longest-playing cricketer, said this series victory was a "special" moment in his career. "This is a reflection of what we have been able to achieve in the last 20 months or so. It is a special day for me and all the Indians. It is great to be sitting on the top."and truly it was. Many have come and gone, some contributed, some didnt, some shone, some failed miserable, but almost all of them have in some part contributed to the effort. One effort that comes to mind is of Sanjay Bangar's(he didnt play in the team much), whose first-day defiance alongside Dravid was so pivotal in India squaring a series at Headingley in 2002
Though it might take a lot of consistency to keep the no1 position. The current Indian Team, under the guidance of Gary Kirsten and the captaincy of MS Dhoni, is capable of doing that and more. With the team already winning the inaugural T20 World Cup and now the Number 1 spot in Test cricket, guess the next thing on the agenda will be, other than maintaining the current position, to go No1 in ODI's and also winning the 2011 world Cup.
Tendulkar and the other weatherbeaten warriors alongside him has done as much as anyone to get India to where they are now. And regardless of what happens over the next few months, it's something to savour. In a country where both administrators and fans are obsessed with cricket in coloured clothes, whether it be over 50 or 20 overs, the players deserve much credit for keeping their eyes on the red ball. After the horrors of a decade ago, these are the best of times.
Congrats....
I remember watching the India-Australia Series in Australia almost a decade ago when the Australian team was laying its claim to be the best in the world. They were totally decimated, and the team had a famous tag line when went with them "Tigers at home, Kittens away". well, no longer. The new look team India is no longer a team which depends on one person. It all started with the Australia's tour of India, Ganguly's First as captain, the famous victories in Kolkata and Chennai(one of the best Test series that i have witnessed, on par with The Ashes, which England won in 2005). If that ill-fated tour of Australia in 1999-2000 taught many players harsh lessons about the game and the rub of the green, then it was the next visit there that really laid the platform for what India have gone on to achieve since. Having overcome the improbable odds to thwart Steve Waugh's quest for Indian glory a couple of years earlier, India went into the series without being overawed or intimidated. With a little more luck on the final day at the SCG, they could even have won under Sourav Ganguly's captaincy. Whatever you say about Sourav Ganguly, he was one person who added steel to the Indian Claws, making them tigers from cubs they actually were. He instilled in the team a spirit of defiance which is carried on by Dhoni and his men now.
The ascent, though achieved, was not smooth. Quiet a lot of off field issues have been witnessed, the dismal show the the world cup, Sydneygate, Ganguly-Chappel Spat, Kumble Retirement to name a few. But nothing has affected the players on field performance. Even with all that the objective has been achieved. Sachin Tendulkar , India's longest-playing cricketer, said this series victory was a "special" moment in his career. "This is a reflection of what we have been able to achieve in the last 20 months or so. It is a special day for me and all the Indians. It is great to be sitting on the top."and truly it was. Many have come and gone, some contributed, some didnt, some shone, some failed miserable, but almost all of them have in some part contributed to the effort. One effort that comes to mind is of Sanjay Bangar's(he didnt play in the team much), whose first-day defiance alongside Dravid was so pivotal in India squaring a series at Headingley in 2002
Though it might take a lot of consistency to keep the no1 position. The current Indian Team, under the guidance of Gary Kirsten and the captaincy of MS Dhoni, is capable of doing that and more. With the team already winning the inaugural T20 World Cup and now the Number 1 spot in Test cricket, guess the next thing on the agenda will be, other than maintaining the current position, to go No1 in ODI's and also winning the 2011 world Cup.
Tendulkar and the other weatherbeaten warriors alongside him has done as much as anyone to get India to where they are now. And regardless of what happens over the next few months, it's something to savour. In a country where both administrators and fans are obsessed with cricket in coloured clothes, whether it be over 50 or 20 overs, the players deserve much credit for keeping their eyes on the red ball. After the horrors of a decade ago, these are the best of times.
Congrats....
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