India scale test peak

Long after the fall of the final Sri Lankan wicket,the subsequent award presentation and an extended photo session...

Long after the fall of the final Sri Lankan wicket,the subsequent award presentation and an extended photo session; the smiling Indian side locked themselves in the dressing room to celebrate the top of the world feeling. After a while,Yuvraj Singh emerged from the door and approached a member of the broadcast crew who,after a short conversation,sprinted towards the ground staff and returned with a couple of spare stumps.

Memorabilia from the historic Test win that saw India move to the top of the world rankings was in supply at the Brabourne Stadium just as high as the demand for souvenirs from fans gathered around the dressing rooms (a lucky few even got some autographed jerseys from the team members) after the last of the four Sri Lankan wickets had fallen in a little over half an hour on Sunday morning.

That India would win this game was almost a foregone conclusion going into Day Five,with the more pertinent question being how much longer the Lankans could extend their resistance. The wait wasnt long,especially after Zaheer Khan took the wicket of Kumar Sangakkara early in proceedings.

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The Sri Lankan skipper had driven Zaheer Khan for a boundary through the covers off the second delivery of the day. Zaheer kept the next ball in the corridor,but pulled the length back just a little bit,inducing an edge off Sangakkaras bat that went straight to Dhoni behind the wickets. Just as he had done with Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera on Saturday,Zaheer had got the Lankan skipper with late movement outside the off-stump.

Beginning of the end

Zaheer went on to pick up two more wickets to complete his first five-wicket haul since returning from injury,while Harbhajan Singh dismissed Muttiah Muralitharan,and soon it was time to roll the credits. The celebrations had begun with many supporters still stuck outside.

The Indian huddle was overcrowded with the top performers of the series. Virender Sehwag,Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni had averages of over 100,while Gautam Gambhir (who missed the third Test,and was missed in the group photo) had an average of 94. Harbhajan,well off his best in the first two Tests,still finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series,while Zaheer had ended up with the most economical fiver across three high-scoring games.

With most of the focus on the day revolving around the No 1 tag at the Brabourne,the revenge aspect of Indias triumph over Sri Lanka took a back seat. Last year,India had lost the series 1-2 in Sri Lanka,picked apart by the Murali-Mendis show that put a question mark on the senior batsmen in the side. After inflicting two massive defeats here,India had settled the score with questions now being asked about Muralitharan’s future. The off-spinner had a traumatic series,conceding almost 600 runs in the three Tests and failing to bowl any high-impact spells.

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As the Indians swaggered off the field as the No 1 team in the world,the No 1 bowler in the world dragged his feet across the lawns one of the few men around the Brabourne not too keen to collecting a memento.