'Good Guys Do Not Always End Up Losers'

It does not get better than what Rahul Dravid did in this Test. His batting was outstanding. Everyone has alreadyexhausted superlatives so I would not bother myself with any additional praise but you could be sure my admiration for himhas grown tremendously.

While his batting is the talk of town, I think it was his catch of Damien Martyn on the fourth afternoon which set upthe game for India.

Martyn and Stephen Waugh had laid the basis of what appeared to be a big stand, recovery was well and truly underway whenDravid stuck his hand out and caught Martyn in the slips.

There are moments in a Test, certain twists and turns, which shift the balance. It was one such moment, to befollowed up with the catch of Waugh.

Dravid's rearguard batting in the first innings revived the Indians. His second knock ensured the good work was notwasted. It is good to see good guys do not end up as losers all the time.

There is no need to bring Sachin Tendulkar into the equation and begin comparisons between him and Dravid. For me,Tendulkar has always been the man towards whom Indian cricket has turned to quite so often in the past.

Dravid had been solid but an unsung hero. Only now he is coming onto his own.He nearly never lets you down and the series has begun brilliantly for him.

It is quite a contrast to the fate Dravid had suffered the last time around. There was no respite for him with thequality bowling which Australians commanded in Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.

I thought he had gone too much into his shell on the previous tour. Now he has matured and plays with theconfidence of a grown-up bat. His shot selection was out-of-ordinary and he chose the right ball to attack.

V.V.S. Laxman once again confirmed what a thorn he has been to the Australians in recent past. I can not believe only tillrecently Laxman was not an automatic choice for India's playing eleven.

We thought India must have been a tremendous outfit to leave a player of his calibre out of the team. He seemsinspired by the challenge and reserves his best against the best attack of the world. He might be a bit unorthodox butthat too not on the side of erring.

The way Laxman attacked the Australian bowling in the second innings when he hit some critical fours in no time,showed the self-belief which is running through his veins. Stuart MacGill played an absolute second fiddle to him. It wasengaging stuff.

I thought the Australians were victim of their own attacking nature. They were too flamboyant for their own goodin this Test match. They should have given respect to the conditions. It is dangerous to be loose in your methods whenthings are not quite suited to your style of play. They should have given credit to the conditions.

Even though none of the Indian medium-fast bowlers enjoy a massive reputation, Australians should have been been awareyoung and fresh bowlers could bowl with a degree of edge. The world champions lost a few early wickets and there was nocoming back.

Usually in the past, it is Adam Gilchrist or Waugh who lift a side out of mire when wickets have fallen cheaply.Quite a few times in the past we have seen Australia slip to 265 for 5 or thereabout and then'Gilly' and 'Tugga' have taken us past the 400-run mark at least. There was no such revival this time.

Gilchrist made a misjudgment with his sweep.

It was particularly distressing to see from an Australian point of view to let Tendulkar take those two crucial wicketswith his leg-spinners. Somehow the little genius finds a way to torment us with bat or ball.

Australia might have sub-consciously underestimated the Indians. They were playing in their own backyard, have been ingood form so there could have been a certain degree of complacency.

It could creep into your game. But by the evidence of the first two games, it is not what Australia needs in remaininggames. 

I am not too distraught with the Australian performance. They had some poor flip of luck when Brad Williams and JasonGillespie were missing from the action at critical times.

There are no excuses though the better side has won in Adelaide.

It nicely sets up the rest of the series which could only be good for the game. As Waugh said, Australia must doan India and respond to this challenge.

It is apparent Saurav Ganguly and his men have been mentally prepared for this tour and have done their home work.They have a good coach and they are bearing the fruits of their hard work.

It is for Australia now to pull themselves up from the floor and respond.

PTI