The perfect advertisement for Test cricket

Coming from a match down to win a three Test series is not unique. It's been done six times before, five in the last six years. And yet there is something very special about the Indian triumph in the just concluded series.

After all, it is not every time that a side wins a series after losing the first Test by ten wickets in three days. And for good measure, being outplayed till midway through the third day of the following Test. But in this particular case, there was something more. This was to be a mismatch between an Indian side that seemed to have given up the winning habit - except against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh - and an Australian team which was on a roll having won a world record 15 consecutive Tests coming into India.

On the eve of the contest, only the margin of Australia's victory was being discussed. The most popular predictions were 2-0 or 3-0 in favour of the Aussies. Hardly anyone gave the Indians a chance. The batting was vulnerable. Oh, the middle order seemed capable but there were doubts whether the opening pair - whoever the two were - would be able to successfully combat McGrath, Gillespie, Kasprowicz and Fleming. There was also the problem where to fit VVS Laxman in - at No 6 or back at the slot which he disliked - opening the innings. There also seemed to be a big question mark about the wicketkeeper - who he would be and whether the one picked was Test material. As regards the bowling, there was unanimity only on the point that it was woefully inadequate to restrict the fleet footed Australians, let alone bowling them out. Of course there was never any doubt that Sourav Ganguly would be worsted in any tactical battle with Steve Waugh.

So, on every count the Australians were the clear favourites. And yet when the series ended on a hot and humid afternoon in the cauldron that was the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai, India were the totally unexpected victors by two matches to one. So how did this metamorphosis come about? Where exactly was the turning point? When exactly did the Australians falter?

Some of the answers are well known. And some of the feats are now part of cricketing folklore. VVS Laxman's stupendous form with the bat including his innings of 281 which turned the Kolkata Test - and the series - around. The bowling of Harbhajan Singh which culminated in the young off spinner finishing with 32 wickets in the series - 28 of them in the last two Tests - and exposing the vulnerability of the Aussies to off spin bowling. The record fifth wicket partnership of 376 between Laxman and Rahul Dravid which sapped even the super fit Australians.

All this was certainly welcome but in the larger context of refurbishing the image of Indian cricket, the contest played a pivotal role. The series - particularly the last two games - was the perfect advertisement for Test cricket. The match fixing scandal - and its fallout which was severe in India - had a grievous impact on the game in the country. Questions were openly asked whether the game in India would be the same again, whether interest in cricket would continue to be sustained at the level it was before the controversy broke. In that context, there is little doubt that the enthralling contest, full of pulsating cricket and maintaining high standards, the see-saw battle for honours, the superhuman feats and the Indian victory over a team rated as inarguably the best in the world will go a long way in rekindling interest in the game in this country. In short, the series was just what the doctor ordered.