Ricky Ponting took the defeat with his chin up and with a lot more grace than what was visible in Sydney. “It’s disappointing (not to have made world record of 17 wins) but it’s been a pretty good run,” he said. “It would have been great to win one more, or 10 more, but we haven’t been good enough. The run was always going to come to an end at some stage. We just weren’t good enough here, it’s as simple as it gets. I was reading stuff in newspapers that our invincibility is all over,” he said. “I wouldn’t have thought so. We’ll see. It’s up to us to see how we bounce back in Adelaide.”

But in the Indian changing room, Adelaide could wait. Until the champagne was popped and the legs had danced to Hindi songs; Rahul Dravid grabbed a quick sip, so did V V S Laxman; RP danced topless and was quickly joined by others. The wives quietly lined up outside the dressing room, allowing their husbands their few minutes of abandon.

Some of India’s best-ever overseas victories have always come from contributions from an individual —- remember Adelaide, Multan, Johannesburg, and even the most recent one in Nottingham. This win was about a few knocks of 90s and 70s, a couple of them in their 40s and their 30s. No five-wicket hauls either; just an equal division between the left-hand and right hand seamers, between leg-spin and off-spin, and about a Dhoni who grabbed eight in this match to equal the best by an Indian wicketkeeper. Contributions came from the set of veterans, and from the teenager — in a sentence, this victory has been the most comprehensive team performance from the Indian side.

... contd.