By defeating Sri Lanka by an Inning and 24 runs, India bags the Number One ICC Rankings for International Test playing nations.
REACTIONS
Sachin Tendulkar | “Fantastic to be at this position. I have been waiting a long time to get to this position (No 1). In fact just not me, entire nation. I thought when Gary (Kirsten) and Paddy (Paddy Upton), along with Robin Singh and Venkatesh Prasad, all credit to them for handling the team brilliantly. Also all the players have worked very hard in the last 18 months. Right from no 1 batter to no 7 (MS bats at no 7) we have a solid batting line-up. This pitch was a brilliant wicket. There was some turn on the first day and I knew one roll would settle it down and it did.”
MS Dhoni | I think the real tough task from now on is to maintain this performance. The real tough job starts from here. When we are pushed to the wall, we come out with some special performances. Overall I think it was a terrific team performance in this series. Every batsman, who got in, in this match did his job. Especially Virender Sehwag. We had a big total and could put pressure with close-in fielders. Zaheer is back in the rhythm and it was good to see the fast bowlers do well in India. There was a bit of reverse swing but not much help to them but they have bowled very well. Our fielding was good. I think we caught nearly everything that came our way.”
David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd | “Great side …. now to do it away from home”
Sunil Gavaskar | “Players like Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble made a lot of contribution. They are the guys who moulded the team. Their teammates imbibed fighting qualities from the Gangulys and Kumbles “
Although, there are questions being asked about India’s surge into numero uno..
The Times asks | Should India reach No1 it will also trigger a lively debate because few people outside India will actually agree that they are in fact the best Test team in the world. Australia will certainly have a few things to say about it, and so too South Africa. Both these teams beat India the last time India visited them, although both times the result was close at 2-1 and, as even Andrew Symonds might admit, India were unlucky to lose at Sydney in January 2008.
Graeme Smith’s side – the current holders of the No1 spot – might also point out that when they toured India last year they were only denied a series victory by a questionable “result” pitch in Kanpur that earned India a slap on the wrist from the ICC.
If one takes out their deification by their own fans, India are hardly obvious top-dog material. They remain a mentally fragile side, as their recent ODI defeat at home to Australia showed. Having done much of the hard work in chasing a mammoth 351 in Hyderabad, they choked within sight of the winning line. Their spirits broken, they barely turned up for the next game. It was another format of the game admittedly, but it exposed India’s lack of belief – as did their reluctance to subject themselves to the new umpiring referral system.
