I am back after a month and a half of holidays in India. And its back to business as usual. India avenged their shock World Cup defeat with a clinical annihilation of Bangladesh in the recently concluded 2 match Test series. After watching the first match washed out, I was extremely disappointed as the Indian batting was beginning to come back to full form. This was displayed in a world record effort in the second and final test match. With the top 4 batsmen scoring centuries, India achieved what no other team had been able to do in the history of the game.

However, the one day series was a different ball game altogether. Still reeling from the public and media backlash following their early exit from the World Cup, the Indian batsmen were nervous and shaky in the first one-dayer. Had it not been for match-winning knocks from Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Kartick, Bangladesh may have won the first ODI.

The biggest disappointment in the ODIs was the performance of Sehwag. He managed to get a start in both the matches but failed to convert them into big innings. With plenty of competition from the likes of Gambhir, Kartick, and even Ganguly, his position in the ODI squad is all but gone. Even Dravid, his biggest supporter, was disappointed with the way he was dismissed in both the innings.
The test series, however was completely different. Here Indian batting came into its own, especially in the second test. A lot of people mention that Bangladesh is a weak opponent, however this is the same team that did defeat both India and South Africa in the World Cup. In today’s day and age, no team can be taken lightly as on a good day anybody can beat anybody. Even the Aussies can be defeated as shown by England and New Zealand. All it needs is commitment and hard work.

Indian was seriously injured during the past World Cup and a lot of effort will need to be put in by the players, coaching staff and the board to restore respect in the public’s eyes. But if India can continue winning and putting in solid performances by the ageing three (Dravid, Ganguly and Tendulkar) then there is no reason why the public will not forgive and forget the recent world cup debacle.

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