Victory in Kiwiland

The memories of India's previous tour to New Zealand must have been fresh in all Indian fans' minds before the latest results. The disastrous results of the previous tour had shocked everyone as India had gone to New Zealand with success in ODI's and tests before the tour. The tour proved to be a wake up call for the team before the 2003 world cup. But 6 years down the line, things have changed. India have won their first test series in New Zealand in 41 years. This was an appropriate gift for all the members of the 2002-03 touring party. The win in the test series would be remembered by the players and the fans for years to come. The highlight of this tour was the way the team saved the second test match. Following on is never easy, especially trailing by more than 300 runs with more than two days to go. Gautam Gambhir delivered at crucial junctures in the series and he for me was the man of the series. He has been quite a revalation during the last year. The way he charges down the track to hit fast bowlers signifies the new spirit of the team. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been able to motivate a bunch of talented youngsters to perform to their fullest potential. The Wisden test 11 of the year signifies the performance of the Indian Cricket team. 5 Indians have made it to the 1 and they are Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, M.S Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. Each of these players have been instrumental in test victories over the last year and a half. M.S Dhoni has been selected as the captain of this team ahead of Greame Smith who led his team to a test series victory in Australia. The cool temperament of Dhoni probably led to him being chosen as the captain of the annual Test 11. The focus now moves on to the Indian Premier League in South Africa. From the classical version we now move on to the slambang arena. In the midst of all this we must congratulate all the players for their remarkable performance on this tour and hope they keep up the good work when India plays next.