On Tuesday, India lost not just the Border-Gavaskar trophy, they also lost their skipper. Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect after the end of Melbourne Test. In many ways, it is the end of an era. But are we shocked by his decision or should we welcome it?
Either which way India are ready to move on and Virat Kohli is ready to take over. And if Team Director Ravi Shastri's words were anything to go by -- ' I give two hoots if it is 2-0 or 3-0 as long the mindset is to go out and win' -- India think... no, believe... they are on the right track. Dhoni's decision won't change things drastically, if anything... Shastri and Kohli seem to be an even better fit and are in a very similar aggressive mould.
A lot has been said about Virat Kohli's aggressive words in the press conference but it was the aggression that he showed with the bat at Adelaide which probably had a greater impact on the Aussies' psyche than perhaps even he imagined. Dhoni's impact in away Tests in recent times has been minimal in comparison.
Virat Kohli has given the Australians as good as he got. Getty Sports Images
At Adelaide, in the first Test, India made 315 chasing 364 runs for victory. Almost no one had expected India to go for it despite all the brave talk; no one except Kohli, who batted exceptionally, with assistance from Murali Vijay, to push Australia hard before a lower-order collapse did the visitors in.
The impact of that chase was felt this morning. Australia were ahead by 326 runs at the start of play and there were 98 overs to be bowled in the day. A more aggressive; a more experienced captain would have perhaps declared at that stage itself.
"I would have batted maybe 5 overs or maximum an hour," said Sourav Ganguly at the close of play. Instead, Australia batted 23 overs for just 57 runs (@ 2.48 runs over) and finally declared at the stroke of lunch.
It was the kind of attitude that strangely enough seemed like a 'safety-first' approach and perhaps even one that suggested Australia were afraid. At one level, you can understand the thinking -- 'We are 2-0 up in the series and there is no need to risk anything.' But at another level, that simply isn't the Aussie way. They are aggressive, they go for the win and they'd rather risk defeat in the quest for the win.
"The first session was just a waste of time for Australia. They gave India a sniff," said a disgusted Mathew Hayden as the game was crawling towards a draw. "I don't know what they were doing. They got 2-3 wickets but never quite pushed. Australia is drowning and India is loving it because they are going to draw the game."
And this was all down to Kohli. This was down to him saying over and over again that we are going to chase the target no matter what it is. When a team keeps telegraphing it's intentions in so graphic a manner, you have no choice but to be cautious. In his own way, Kohli made believers out of the Aussies and perhaps out of Dhoni too.
"Never really wanted to give them a sniff," said Steve Smith at the end of the match."I thought they had some pretty powerful batters in the shed. We could play conservatively and preserve the series result. That is what we were thinking about."
If this had been Michael Clarke, he would have pushed for it right from the word 'go.' If this had been Clarke, they would have declared earlier and maybe even had the second new ball to attack the Indians with at the end. If this had been Clarke, Australia would not have agreed to a draw with four overs left in the end.
If nothing else, Clarke would have thought about a Test in Mumbai where four wickets fell in 24 balls.
But it wasn't Clarke. It was Smith and his take was very different, "Didn't think our bowlers had four wickets in them. They were pretty tired on a flat pitch. It wasn't reversing a lot and it wasn't going up and down either."
In the Indian dressing room, Shastri was cutting a rather boisterous figure.
"I look for a mindset. I give two hoots if it is 2-0 or 3-0 as long the mindset is to go out and win. The scoreline doesn't matter. Give us 12 months and this team will be in the top 2-3 in the world," said Shastri. "And all of Australia knows that this Indian side is giving their side a tough time -- we go out to win. That is what I want. That is what we want."
"Yes, we have lost the series but 20 minutes of madness has cost the matches but we have fought hard. That is what matters," he added while switching straight into commentary mode. "We will go to Sydney looking to win the game. Like I said, to hell with the scoreline."
Indeed, in another era going into Sydney for the final match of a series that is already lost, India would have cut a pretty despondent figure. Dhoni would have spoken about the process being right. But instead, now the thought process isn't defeatist... we wonder whether India can finally cross the line; we wonder whether India can finally win an 'away' Test; we wonder if paradise can be regained after all.
That is why even though the series is lost; even though Dhoni has retired... it seems like India are getting closer to victory. And that can't be a bad thing.
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