Team India completed a win over Australia, such a 4-0 series triumph being the first ever in the history of Indian cricket. Having been beaten by the same margin last year in Australia, this was sweet revenge for M.S. Dhoni and his men. The Australians, in disarray on tour after disciplinary action benched four players for not doing their homework, had suffered such 4-0 humiliation last in 1970 in South Africa.
India freely tinkered with the pitches to give the home team the decisive advantage from the very first Test. Whether such doctoring is good for the long-term future of Indian cricket may be debatable, but the team did do well in such conditions. The highlight of the series win was that it was crafted by emerging players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja, series debutants Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and comeback men like Murali Vijay. The spinners were on top of their form, which was to be expected given the wickets were fine-tuned to favour them. While Ravichandran Ashwin emerged the highest wicket-taker, Jadeja proved himself capable as a Test-bowling all-rounder and Pragyan Ojha chipped in. The Indians outshone their opponents in every department to regain some of the reputation lost in two whitewashes in England and Australia and a home series defeat at the hands of England.
The biggest challenge lies in trying to replicate winning performances in Tests abroad. To regain the No. 1 Test ranking India would have to win a lot on the road, but the rebuilding has begun well. Resurrection is in the air.