The King is not yet dead
Harsha Bhogle, in the Indian Express , feels it's too premature to write Australia off on the basis of one heavy defeat
Kanishkaa Balachandran
25-Feb-2013
Harsha Bhogle, in the Indian Express, feels it's too premature to write Australia off on the basis of one heavy defeat. He writes that great teams like Australia tend to question their self belief, analyse themselves relentlessly, identify weaknesses and seek to plug them. The mindset of the new crop of players might just be different compared to those who made their debuts in 1999, at the start of Australia's dream run.
Should they lose the series there, a crop of inexperienced players, the future of Australian cricket, will be made aware of the fact that they o can lose. To an earlier generation, Brett Lee and Adam Gilchrist for example, the initiation years only saw victory. They grew quickly, learnt to win and kept the Aussie juggernaut going. Now if the Johnsons and Whites and Haddins begin their careers with defeat, their mindset will be different. It is there that Australia’s greatest challenge lies.
In the Hindu, Makarand Waingankar attributes India's victory to Mahendra Singh Dhoni's aggressive body language in the field, right from the time he spoke at the toss.
The strategy was clear; if you win the toss, bat for a minimum of five sessions and put the opposition under pressure. Verbal reassurance from the captain acts like a tonic to his players. Not sure what tactic Dhoni uses in the dressing room when he is the captain, one is inclined to believe that he certainly has definite roles for each player.
Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo