Historic day for Indian cricket

Today, India won the test series against England 1-0. Beating any team in its own backyard is always sweet; when they haven't been beaten at home in six years, the triumph is even sweeter. I had said at the beginning of the series that I would be happy with a 1-1 result. England have been strong at home, they were just coming off a 3-0 triumph against the West Indies and their morale was high. To manage to upset that applecart is creditable to say the least.

This is noteworthy for several other reasons.
First- it was a true team effort. Too often, Indian cricket has been carried on the shoulders of one or two great players, be it Tendulkar or Kapil Dev or a Gavaskar. This one was different. Everyone chipped in, Kaarthick and Jaffer batted brilliantly, RP Singh and Zaheer swung the ball both ways, Dhoni showed he could mix agression with plenty of caution when the situation demanded it and Kumble displayed his batting skills at the fag end of an illustrious career. What India has lacked in the past is consistency and all round team performance. This one had plenty of both!
Second- this victory was attained without a formal coach. Coming on the heels of Greg Chappell's now infamous Vision 2007 that ended in an ignominous first round exit at the World Cup, it seems the biys tend to do well without one. As long as there is some support in the bolwing and fitness departments, the need for an expert coach may be an over rated one.
Third- After the debacle of the World Cup, the Indian team needed to lift itself and play good, positive cricket to get their fans back in the fold. This triumph has again got the momentum going and made the fans believe that the team can do it. Nothing is better for a sport than the return of the loyal fan who may be feeling betrayed at the end of the World Cup.

All positive things going into the one day series which can be a completely different ball game. Given India's strong batting line-up and the consistent performance of the seamers and their ability to swing the ball both ways, I bet my money on India taking the series 4-3, but then, when have I ever been objective about India's performance!!

For now though, lets savor the test series win. Well done team!