Why being world's best cricket team feels so good!

We will remember the moment as long as we live. Late in the day, in the fading light, as we had all given up on hopes of victory, Harbhajan Singh struck. As Morkel played the wrong line, umpire Steve Davis raised the dreaded finger. And Eden Garden erupted. Surely there can be no better setting for such a pulse-pounding contest. Spare a thought for Hashim Amla. He was unquestionably the man of the series.

India now stays on top of Test rankings. But never has the feeling been more satisfying, more authentic. With Thursday’s comprehensive win over South Africa, we can justifiably claim that the No. 1 spot belongs to us.

True, we have just drawn the series and that too at home. But for once, we did not claim the home advantage. The great track ensured that the visitors had a fair chance. On the contrary, South Africa cannot claim a similar moral high ground. When we visited there a few years back, the pitches were tailor-made to suit their fast bowlers. We can hold our heads high and say, we are ahead of them in the ranking system fair and square. How I wish we had another lip-smacking Test to follow!

We won because we were more desperate than our rivals. Zaheer was outstanding in the first innings. He got us the key wickets (and the crucial De Villiers run-out). It is sad that he has hurt himself now. Thankfully, we don’t have a Test series in near future. Simply put, he is 50% of our attack.

That we rose to the occasion, despite his absence in the second innings, showed our hunger to win. On his favourite ground, Harbhajan delivered once again. His twin strike off two deliveries in the first innings made Eden come alive. For a moment, it was flashback 2001. He led from the front in the second earning a five-wicket haul after a long gap.

Mishra, especially in the second innings, was a revelation. The delivery that dismissed Kallis in the second innings was arguably the ball of the match. He batted well too. He will improve more if persisted with. By the way, he was dropped the last time he bowled well (against Bangladesh in the first Test). Team India’s think-tank needs to have more faith in him.

India had four centurions. Each ton was important in its own way. But the man who really put us on the road to victory was Sehwag, undoubtedly world’s best batsman.

The perceptive South Africans understood that. Former South African coach Mickey Arthur wrote in his column that the pace at which Sehwag scored allowed the Indians to declare a session earlier. That made a huge difference in the end.

Similarly, present South African coach Corrie Van Zyl admitted that Sehwag unsettled each of their bowlers. His attacking game ensured that Steyn and Morkel were tamed to submission. Other batsmen enjoyed the rub-offs. Tons by Sachin, Laxman (on his favourite ground again) and Dhoni allowed India to get on top. Sachin’s was a flawless innings. Laxman played some eye-catching shots. But it was Dhoni who finally took the attack to the opposition. All truly complemented each other.

Ishant redeemed himself with a lion-hearted spell in the second innings. But I am still not sure if he is our No 2 paceman for keeps. A good batsman can leave 8 out of 10 balls delivered by him. He seems to be emerging as a hardworking stock bowler rather than a genuine strike bowler.

Some areas still require attention. Our close-in catching leaves much to be desired. And the young guns failed to take their chances. It should be back to first-class cricket for Murali Vijay. He was fast forwarded into the team after a good season. He looked a good prospect but the South African pace attack clearly exposed him. When will Cheteshwar Pujara get a chance?

Badrinath was caught on the wrong end of a great burst by Steyn. But his 56 at Nagpur showed he has the grit and the game to succeed. He is not classy but we need a resolute batsman in the lower middle order. I still believe he will improve with time.

Now the ODIs beckon. No Gambhir. No Yuvraj. No Zaheer. No Harbhajan. This will be a new look ODI team. I am happy that Yusuf Pathan is back. He is a genuine match winner in Indian conditions. And we must ensure that he becomes integral to our 2011 World Cup plans. He could be the magic no 7 that we need.

One final word on our Thursday triumph. Congrats to the Eden crowd. They were awesome. They proved once again that they are the best. Turning up in thousands everyday and rooting for India vociferously, they showed what real passion is all about. This was pure emotion emerging straight from the heart; unlike those manufactured by corporate IPL teams after spending millions in advertisements. It also showed how quality Test cricket can be as enjoyable, if not more, than other shorter forms of the game.

A word of praise also for Eden curator Prabir Mukherjee. He stood up to BCCI diktats and produced a good five-day track. Winning on such a track has only enhanced the reputation of Team India. India should be proud of men like him. In these corporate times, when bending and crawling are the name of the success game, he has illustrated that walking tall and straight has its own rewards.

Source:Toi