BOMBAY, 19 December 2003 — The frenzy that gripped the nation after India’s historic victory over Australia in the second Test, at the Adelaide Oval, may have been justified, in as much as such stupendous successes abroad are few and far between. But as the euphoria finally dies down, it ought to bring in its wake a worthwhile analysis of the team’s performance, however heart-warming it may have been.

There can be no doubt that, on all counts, India were the better side in every department of the game, not the least, the fielding. The Australians, hailed as world champions of both versions of the game, may temper their enormous disappointment of losing a match at home, by the reminding themselves that they were without three of their key players, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Shane Warne. The critics too found this as a convenient excuse for Australia’s defeat at the hands of a team they had written off long before the series had even started.

But by doing this, both the administration and the media would be rendering a distinct disservice to the cause of the home team.

The tremendous batting line-up, probably the best in contemporary cricket, is India’s strong point. They thus played to their strength, not only at Adelaide but also in the first Test at Brisbane, which had ended in a draw. To add to this advantage was, for India’s sake, the tremendous improvement in their bowling department and, more importantly, the fielding.

But let us talk of the batting first. It speaks volumes for the depth and quality of Indian batting that even without all them clicking, they could practically outbat Australia in both the Tests. In the second, what one saw was one of the most remarkable recoveries in recent times, as India pulled back dramatically from being 85 for 4 to just 33 runs short of Australia’s mammoth total of 556.

As had happened at Calcutta’s Eden Gardens in 2001, it was the partnership between Rahul Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman that made this possible. Dravid hit a classic 233 and followed this up with a match-winning knock of 72 in the second innings. Laxman, ever so strokeful as ever, scored yet another timely century. The two put on 303 runs for the fifth wicket. Two years ago, they had had a record-breaking stand of 376, after India had followed on at Calcutta. Hardly any big contributions had come from Tendulkar and Ganguly and just modest knocks from Sehwag.

While Tendulkar, West Indian Brian Lara and Australia’s Matthew Hayden dominate most debates on who is the best batsman in world cricket, Dravid’s figures speak just as loud.

The 30-year-old has scored 16 Test hundreds, including four double centuries, and has a career average of 56.54. His 233 was the third highest score by an Indian in Test cricket, the highest overseas, and the fourth highest by a foreigner on Australian soil.

After the first two Tests, the Australians might shudder to think what might happen if all the six Indian batsmen together make sizable contributions. If there were any lessons for India to have learned despite the handsome victory, one is the manner in which some of the batsmen got carried away. Virender Sehwag virtually threw away his wicket in the second innings, It was a wild, almost blind, slog on the very next ball after hitting a four off Stuart MacGill. There was no need for such display of flamboyance, a lesson which young Parthiv Patel ought also to learn. It is never too early to inculcate a policy of restraint.

India’s fielding has come by leaps and bounds. The catching on the series so far has been absolutely stunning. Sehwag was simply brilliant, as he brought off three catches, each one a gem. Having said that, at times, Ganguly’s field placings were incomprehensible. In the first Test he had eight men on the off-side and yet did not deploy a deep third-man. India gave away 74 runs in that area. In the second Test, no less than 62 runs were given away in the same way.

The same can be said of Ganguly’s bowling changes. One just fails to understand why he is reluctant to try out even a few overs from Tendulkar. It was as a measure of desperation that he finally threw the ball at the little master in the second innings. Tendulkar gave India the needed breakthrough.