Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The Australian cricketers have once again proved they are the number one team in the world when they clinched the seven-match one-day series in India with one match to spare.
After a minor slump in form during which they fell to the number three slot in the ICC world rankings they have risen to the top again and that too with many of their key players suffering injuries during the course of the series.
They also showed that their victory in the ICC Champions Trophy was no flash in the pan as captain Ricky Ponting led from the front with half centuries in the first three matches and some solid knocks in the others.
Shane Watson also put in a good all-round performance giving his side solid starts as an opener and taking key wickets to blunt the opposition's run chase. Most of the others also chipped in for a collective effort which in the end proved decisive. Some of them were newcomers, who came in for the injured players midway through the series. Playing at the international level didn't deter them.
I hope I haven't given the impression that the series was one-sided. It was not. There were a couple of close matches which went the Aussies way and that made the difference. They showed that they are a professional outfit by fighting to the very end.
In the case of India, they were supposed to be boosted by the return of hard-hitting Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, both of whom missed the Champions Trophy. But the duo failed to fire except on a couple of occasions. Sehwag got off to good starts but failed to sustain the momentum, while Yuvraj just turned out one good performance with the bat.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni put in a consistent performance but his other teammates did not follow his example. Sachin Tendulkar came up with a scintillating 175-run knock in the fifth one-dayer during which he crossed the 17,000 mark. But his was a lone hand as he perished with just a few more runs needed for victory.
The weakest part of the Indian team were the bowlers and their fielders needed a lot to learn from their opponents.
So, hats off to the Aussies and Ponting for returning to the number one spot.
