on cricket...

Looking back at India's victory, it really feels good to win a test match abroad. Watching Dravid score the winning runs broughts out hurrahs from everyone watching. But it is still a paradox that we have to consider. We can go about boasting that we have won a test match in Australia. But we have to remmeber that they had won in India too the last time we met. Except for the heroics of Laxman and Dravid, we would have lost the series too. I expect Australia to come back with vengenace. I know they will. But as Kicha had said, they may have a minor worry of the loss rankling in thier mind. But with Brett Lee coming back to third test and McGrath for the final test, I feel that we might have to raise our levels much higher. And I have seen no other teamin the world that has raised the bars of performance higher thatn Australia. The last World Cup was a small example. After trying hard to reach the performance levels of the Aussies, we had managed to claw back into the final, but they had raised thier game to a much higher level on the day it mattered. With almost ten days before the two teams met again, it is to be seen how we put back the victory behind us and look at the games ahead us. Incidentally, we have nothing to lose. Even if we manage to draw the remaining matches, it will be termed a success by all. But I would call it a success only when we manage to win the tri-series after the test matches. They will be a very big challenge for our players, both physically and mentally. The true champion would be the team that manages to stay on its feet at the end. I believe the Americans term it "the last man standing". Will it be us?