Indian cricket is ready for sterner ‘Tests’

For the next eight months Indian cricketers can relax and savour the best ever series victory in their 80-year Test history against an Australian team dubbed the worst in recent memory.  Without getting unduly excited about the team's showing, can we honestly say the series against Australia has enhanced the stature of Test cricket during which matches barely lasted a little over three days?

If India's performance against England fell short of expectations, they were clearly head and shoulders above Australia. Now when they next tour South Africa and then New Zealand it will again be a different ball game. There the real character of the team will be known. Cricket administrators, selectors and players showed remarkable resilience after being thrashed black and blue on two major overseas tours in the last 18 months.

Even after the horrible returns from England and Australia, the administrators here did not panic like they did Down Under in the aftermath of the back-to-back Ashes defeats and set up a high-powered Argus Review.

There were hysterical calls for the head of Mahendra Singh Dhoni; leading the chorus were the demigods of cricket. Now after the whitewash they have joined the Hail-Dhoni bandwagon without even a hint of apology.