Indian - Australian Test series in India has produced many unexpected and unsung heroes.
1) Amit Misra emerging as Indian hero in his debut Test. Misra googled Australia in the second Test for 5/71, putting them under pressure to follow-on
2) Harbhajan and Skipper Kumble grabbed just 5 wickets for 399 in the first three Innings. Had Australia known this fact ahead of the series, Ponting would have had jumped with joy.
3) Harbhajan hitting his 50s as tail-ender in first innings of first Test in Chennai, while other Indian batsmen struggled
4)
Matthew Hayden, the run machine of 2001 and the scorer of three centuries in Australia last year, has 13 runs from first three Innings
5) Ganguli hitting his 16th century and silencing the critics
Controversial spinner Harbhajan Singh further deepened the animosity
between India and Australia on Thursday when he called Matthew Hayden
“a big liar” and Adam Gilchrist “no saint.”
The Indian has been in the headlines on the acrimonious tour of
Australia ever since he was banned for three matches for allegedly
racially abusing Andrew Symonds during the second Test in Sydney in
January.
The suspension was later overturned following an appeal hearing, but
the relations between the two sides deteriorated as Hayden called
Harbhajan an “obnoxious weed” on radio during the subsequent one-day
series.
Deep at the bottom of the entire controversy is the pressure tactics off the ground. It is mainly to keep the Indians busy mentally resolving their conflicts, so that the Australians could have won the series. Kudos to Harbhajan who kept is cool in the second ODI and did not give up to the mental games played by the home team.
