One more over

Like all good things, the most exciting Test series had to end one day. Oh, for a few moments more of such magical cricket, the likes of which we might not see for a long, long time! Champagne glasses were raised to toast the boy with the golden arm, but Harbhajan Singh's spin cocktails were far headier than any bottled stuff.

The Australians failed to get past this one-man Sikh regiment and the Final Frontier will remain unconquered for the time being. The next time round, they might come armed with the right techniques to counter off-spin and turbaned whippersnappers, but right now they will be wondering just how he did it.

He had them lunging forward and stepping back. Nothing worked. Warne turned and stuck out his buttocks and a few padded up constantly as the best way to avoid putting bat to a ball that looped and dipped and came straight on like a heat-seeking missile. And throughout it all, 'Bhajji' laughed with the joy of a man vindicated at last.

And along with him must have laughed another vindicated man, his skipper, who had put his faith in him from the start.

Saurav Ganguly should be congratulated for standing up to the selectors and demanding that Harbhajan Singh be included in the team. The captain has come in for a huge amount of flak for his batting failure and uncouth behaviour towards his counterparts and supporters, but no one can doubt his loyalty towards his men and his refusal to take any kind of provocation lying down. This team needed to get a backbone, and Ganguly has managed to rid the Indians of their old servile ways and tight-lipped demeanour when facing sledging.

Right now, he will be looking at his own loss of form and hopefully will sort out the demons in his mind before the one-day series starts in Bangalore. Like Ricky Ponting who fell into the same trap again and again, Ganguly too is being snared in exact same fashion each time. The one-dayers will exert even more pressure on him, but the good news is that as an opener with Tendulkar he fares better than when he goes 5 down in Tests.

The Indians must now concentrate on winning the one-day series, and not let the Test wins be a flash in the pan. The Australians will be in an unforgiving mood, and will be looking to pale the memory of an ignominious defeat with a thumping win in the one-dayers. Champion fighters to the last, they will however have to contend with going in with more handicaps than the Indians.

Jason Gillespie has flown back home. Shane Warne is not likely to play unless he wants to risk more humiliation. Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Mark Waugh are struggling to make runs. Glen McGrath is tired to the bone. The Australian spirit has taken a big knock, and they have just three days to get it back.

The Indians on the other hand have a fresh-as-a-daisy Harbhajan Singh and a recovered Srinath. The batting line up gets even better with one-day specialists like Robin Singh and Hemang Badani supporting the big stars. All the Indians have to do now is keep their heads, and play to win.