Just how far has Indian cricket come?
The stop-start nature of the performances in the Caribbean - when half the team's leading lights were missing - gave some clues as to the challenges that India face to stay No
Nikita Bastian
25-Feb-2013
The stop-start nature of the performances in the Caribbean - when half the team's leading lights were missing - gave some clues as to the challenges that India face to stay No. 1 in the coming months, says Dileep Premachandran, writing in the National.
While the placid nature of the pitches, which have been made for five days of television, has thwarted them on a couple of occasions, it is fair to say that India have not been knockout specialists in the manner of the young Mike Tyson, the former world heavyweight boxing champion. Instead, they have resembled the lumbering Klitschko brothers - resilient, usually efficient and capable of capitalising on the opposition's frailties.
Great champions set standards that can often seem out of reach. The quest for the perfect game or perfect series is motivation in itself. The best sides do not just win. They keep winning and in the process, they subdue the spirit of those they overcome.
Nikita Bastian is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo