No 1 without a doubt....India rules Test Cricket !!!

India retained its No 1 status in test cricket, as Dhoni's men outclassed Ponting's punters at Bangalore to win the much touted Indo - Aussies series 2-0 in a complete whitewash. The once mighty Aussies are now languishing at No 5 in the rankings. Something that's going to hurt them for a long time to come.

On the last day, when Ponting had set India a tricky target of 207, there were a few worried brows in the Indian dressing room. The pitch was behaving erratic & the ball was suddenly jumping up or keeping low. The tension built up further, when Sehwag got out cheaply & the Aussies had their tails up.
The next man walking in was Cheteshwar Pujara, the debutant, who had failed in the 1st innings, & it looked a recipe for disaster. In the commentary box, as well as in the stands, people gasped at seeing this young man in, instead of the experienced Wall, Rahul Dravid. But this young Turk, who has been scoring runs at will & aplomb in the domestic matches, looked defiant & confident. He launched into a counter attack, which left the mighty Aussies completely bewildered. With Murali Vijay first & then with Sachin, he stroked India back into the game & by the time he was out for a brilliant 72 runs, India were firmly back on track. Veterans Sachin & Rahul completed the run chase with ease & Ponting was left wondering what else he could've done. He still remains win less in India.

In Cheteshwar Pujara, India has found a solid bat, who can be an able replacement to Dravid, in the near future. Pujara, shows uncanny confidence & plays with a very straight bat. He has been scoring, rather plundering runs at will in the domestic circuit as well as playing for India A overseas. For him today the pressure was more of an opportunity, which he grasped with both hands.
Some credit should go to Ganguly, who sighted this talent & played him for KKR in the IPL. Though the shorter format did not give him much success, the former Indian skipper has been strongly recommending Pujara for the National side. He must be proud to see one more of his finds do justice to the National Cap. Ganguly has also predicted left arm pacer J Unadkat as the next big name in the Indian bowling attack, who also has been given exposure through KKR. Who knows, Ganguly may yet serve the country , as the Talent Hunt head, getting in young rookies, who would carry India with laurels ahead.

Meanwhile, Sachin has been virtually unstoppable this year. The Man of the Match & Series was a certainty for him as he regained the No 1 position the tests batting since 2002. Going beyond 14000 runs, scoring his 49 test century, aggregating  a stupendous 99.5 for this year till now, Sachin has been enjoying probably the best patch of his career, as records keep tumbling one after the other.