India humble Aussies in Perth Test

By John Cheeran
David defeated Goliath not because how well David fought, but how well he believed he could defeat his enemy.
Just the same is true in the case of Anil-Kumble inspired India’s historic 72-run win over world champions Australia.
Yes, India played well. But after two morally and physically draining defeats at Melbourne and Sydney, to believe that they could outclass those arrogant Aussies at their strongest turf, you needed to believe as well as David.
And it has more than trivia value that Sourav Ganguly had little role to play in this refulgent win.
India’s victory was the result of a team effort. Still Rahul Dravid’s (first innings) and VVS Laxman’s (second innings) batting contributions bring back the memories of that celebrated win at the Eden Gardens against Steve Waugh’s Aussies.
Why is it that Ganguly, and to a certain extent, Tendulkar were pushed into the background by those mysterious powers sweeping through the pitch at Perth for the last four days?
Nobody knows. Or everyone knows.
May be those selfish giants were put to sleep by an unknown raga.
It was certainly a victory for Harbhajan. It was a victory that proved being gentle is not exactly as being feckless.
Here again, India has snapped Australia’s 16-Test winning streak. This win is all the more sweeter, considering the bitter and sordid experiences that the team went through thanks to the stupid umpiring of Steve Bucknor and Benson.
The way the young and inexperienced seam attack – RP Singh, Ishant Sharma and Irfan Pathan – hammered those nails into the coffins of Ricky Ponting and cohorts, augurs well for the future of Indian cricket.
Play on, India.