Hum hain DON!!

"In the end it doesnt even matter..." probably this is what Amla must be saying to himself now!! If one only saw Bhajji go boom boom after the last wicket or heard Sachin speak b4 the presentation ceremony, it was quite evident what the number1 status meant to India. This was an absorbing test match, a real test of charcater and mettle for both the teams, one trying to retain it's supremacy and the other trying to steal the spotlight. But the entire series has gone till the wire making it a beautiful cricketing extraveganza for the audience. If South Africa won the first test with an innings to spare, this time it is India's turn with the margin little higher than wht they lost to.

It is not just India's victory in the second test that is important but what has to be spoken of is the pressure that both the teams underwent before starting this series. RSA had problems with it's management and India's only aim was its ranking. Nothing else mattered.The amount of pressure piled bcoz of all this can be seen at the celebrations after dismissing Morne Morkel (that was a huge sigh of relief for the Indians) but amidst all these there was one man who stood tall, calm and made his intentions clear, "if u wanna get me out thn I would squeeze an Atlantic from u bowlers", Hashim Amla.It was almost nxt to impossible to dismiss this one-down batsman from Durban. His concentration, footwork and technique were so perfect that the ball beat the outside edge of his bat only once on the last day at the Eden gardens, where the ball turned, bounced and ripped of the surface.

But this test match also rings alarms in the minds of Indian team management and fans about the fitness levels of our players.If just 3bowlers (Bhajji, Mishra and Ishant) could knock the opposition down on the final day it shld also be noted tht the RSA tail batted for 25overs (number 9, 10, 11 batsmen all together played 148balls). With the One-Day series round the corner and all pro players from the Indian team off (Gambhir, Bhajji, Zaheer and yuvraj) it is upto Sachin, Sehwag n Dhoni to lead the youth and prove that the victory at Kolkatta is not a mere J.P.Duminy gift (dropped Laxman n sehwag on 48 who went on to make centuries!!). Waiting for the nail-biting series to get started off! Keeping my fingers crossed :)