Team India’s victory in the CBS tournament final over the Aussies- for that matter the entire Aussie tour- is remarkable for various reasons. Let us try to analyse some of them.

Firstly, just prior to the Australian tour, Anil Kumble was chosen as the captain. A captain at the ripe old age of 36 and what would be his leadership qualities and how would the newcomers and juniors take it- these were matters of conjecture. But Anil Kumble gave a good account of himself as a performing captain. He showed that aggression need not always be exhibited and in the war of attrition, he was no less. He led by personal example and inspired his colleagues to come out with their best.

Then there were those off-field controversies. The Aussies were taking the ‘mental disintegration’ theory propounded by Steve Waugh, a bit too far. And then they expected no resistance from the normally timid and underperforming Indians. Indians have never been exhibitionistic. Bishan Bedi used to be first one to clap when he used be to be carted for a sixer! We are Indian and we do things differently! Even to a neutral observer, it would be evident that Hayden and Symonds’ body language is intimidating. Playing the game with all seriousness and feeling proud at representing the nation is one thing! But to have scant respect for the opponents as humen-beings, let alone as players is not very healthy. They provoked the Indian players and ultimately had to pay the price for it. Their concentration on the game suffered and Indians proved a point. Overhauling the test record of 16 consecutive Test wins were playing in their mind and got carried away by it. Playing is not solely about winning or loosing it is also how you go about it. Does a 1-1 series victory, given the standard of umpiring, not mean 2-1 in India’s favour.

Test series over the focus shifted to one-dayers. Australians have a contemptuous attitude towards Srilanka also, the other opponent in the 3-nation tournament. Murali is never accepted as the top off spinner of our times. Srilanka taught them a lesson or two. India rubbed salt in their wounds by inflicting the defeat in the first final on Sunday. Today it has been a day of outstanding cricket. Defending a 250-260 total is the most difficult task in one dayers, where both teams believe they have a chance. India managed to do it and do it in great style. With this victory we have proved the world over that our young brigade has really arrived and we are a force to reckon with in both forms of cricket. The perfect icing on the cake has been the T20 World cup victory where every pundit worth his name had written off India.

One of the important fall outs has been the discovery of great young talents like Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla. For players like Pathan and Sree santh, this tour has been a revelation. These overseas performances against the toughest opposition would do their confidence a world of good. It would be unfair if one does not mention the contribution of seniors like Sachin. Dhoni’s man-management skills need a special mention. At 26, he is exhibiting all the good qualities of a true leader.

Let us not go overboard. The press and print media are likely to go euphoric. For 7 decades we have been languishing in the lower rungs of international cricket except for brief flashes of brilliance during the mid 80’s (with the World cup and WSC victories) and post 2000( under Sourav’s inspirational leadership when overseas performance improved significantly). Let us cherish this victory and  learn to respect our efforts- the kind of planning , the cooperation of the support staff and the wishes of crores of Indians- all that made this victory possible and let us hope we succed in substaining our efforts over a long-period.