Stand tall, and straight

Shame on us Indians, why can't we be proud?

What is wrong with us? Our cricketers have at last played out of their skins and given us all a series victory we couldn't even have dreamt about, and yet, there are some people who shake their heads and wonder if the matches were fixed. At least six people have said this to me.

The sickening thing about these people is - they would never make that remark if Australia had beaten us similarly. No, then it would be all about our "lack of killer instinct", "inconsistency" and "lack of genuine talent".

Are these people so blind that they couldn't spot the incredibly high quality of cricket that was played in this series? Did they totally miss the intensity that prevailed almost throughout the series? What do you say to them? These people aren't cricket fans, that's for sure.

Fact is - this is quite simply the greatest Test series India has ever been involved in, home or away. Not "one of the greatest". THE greatest. It had everything that makes cricket such a great game - great batting, superb spin bowling, magnificent pace bowling, outstanding fielding, heroic individual performances, breathtaking counter-attacks, tantalising unpredictability, nailbiting supense…it's like the finest scriptwriter of all put all the ingredients together and came out with this masterpiece.

We, who saw this series, should be grateful it happened in our lifetime. From the quality point-of-view, it is incidental that India won. But then again, maybe not. A soccer parallel for the series probably would be being 0-5 down at half time, and winning 7-6 in extra time. Poetically, an Indian victory was most fitting.

The most important thing the series has done for us is that it has given us paradigms that'll never be forgotten.

1)Never again will an Indian team have reason to give up hope if they have a bad first innings, if they follow-on. Or if they stumble badly as they approach crunch time. Any member of the team, however unlikely, can be the one to take them home (like Dighe was).

2)Never again will an Indian team believe that batting first in Indian conditions is the end-all. It seems to have escaped everyone that this is the first time ever in India that the team batting second won every time.

3)Never again will an Indian team underestimate the power of positive thinking. Forget Laxman and Dravid, could Dighe and Harbhajan have batted like they did otherwise, when the moment of truth came?

Let us be proud of these guys - they have shown guts and commitment, and fortune has favoured the brave. Just like it had favoured this magnificent Australian team for so long. Years later, this series will be seen as the turning point for Indian Cricket. Add Kumble and Srinath to this team - things look rosier than it has for almost a generation. This is a perfect team, blending youth and experience, full of promise.

And why should that be surprising - surely Sodhi's Under-15 and Kaif's Under-19 World Cup winning sides had given sufficient evidence of what was to come? Now, if only Das were to sort out the bouncer, Ramesh improve his shot selection outside the off-stump, Ganguly draw inspiration from his One-Day successes, Dravid stay positive always, the wicket-keeper confusion get resolved -- this side would be very hard to beat under any conditions. It's my hunch - all this will indeed happen. Our Test record will improve phenomenally, even abroad. And that will automatically bring success in One-Dayers too. In 2003, India could well be the favourites who actually win the World Cup.

Yes, we are getting carried away perhaps. But what the hell, just this once. Only thing - let us make it clear to the BCCI that all this has happened not because of them, but despite them. Let them not harbour any delusions about this, as they are already showing signs of doing.

Editor's note: Rediff believes that like its own editorial staffers, readers too have points of view on the many issues relating to cricket as it is played.

Therefore, Rediff provides in its editorial section space for readers to write in, with their views. The views expressed by the readers are carried as written, in order to preserve the original voice.

However, it needs mentioning that guest columns are opinion pieces, and reflect only the feelings of the individual concerned -- the fact that they are published on Rediff's cricket site does not amount to an endorsement by the editorial staff of the opinions expressed in these columns.

Mail Jaideep Verma