All the euphoria that surrounded the Indian team, after their victorious return from the T20 World Cup, has died down - thanks to the two convincing defeats against the Aussies. So far, the cricketing public seem to have taken it in the right spirit - only because the opponents are the deadly Aussies. They are wishing that the Indians can pull back once or twice, in the remaining matches.
The Australian team have shown why they have been on the top for the last decade or more. Their all-round skills have not diminished even with the induction of new blood and the retirements of the Greats. The newcomers (like Mitchell Johnson and Brad Haddin) have ensured that the absent players were not missed at all. The other teams in international cricket must be still wondering at the enigma called Australia.
The Indians have done a decent job till the 30-over mark, while bowling. But, once the ball is changed (thanks to a new change in ODIs), the batsmen have taken a liking to the hard ball and tonked it around. The youngsters like Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir, have not been able to show the spark that they did in the T20 World Cup. But, the fielding has definitely shown a major improvement (even with the presence of the slower ones like Ramesh Powar, Sourav Ganguly).
The team management would do well to persist with the younger crop so that they get a continued run as well as some exposure to high-class cricket in the longer version of the ODIs. Even without them, there is a very good possibility of the Aussies winning the series - hence, there is nothing much to lose for the Indians if they let go the youngsters against the champs.
The Indians came back after being down against the South Africans in England to win the series; equaled the series (with 3 straight wins) before going down to the English; won continuous make-or-break matches in the T20 World Cup. Can they do it once again? If they do achieve it, this is certainly the dawn of a new era in Indian cricket. We have the luxury to dream, dont we?
