The Opening

Putting your best foot forward is a truism that has been exemplified no greater than the opening partnerships that India has with both bat and ball. India can claim to have the best opening tandems on both sides of the field now. The destructive Virender Sehwag made a searing comeback to Test cricket and he is by far the most feared batsman in world cricket with no heed to the opposition attack or circumstance. Joining him is the increasingly prolific Gautam Gambhir, who's looked the most secure of all Indian batsmen this year, in all forms of the game.

The opening bowlers have been no less exemplary: young Ishant Sharma has grown up fast; his ability to bowl at good pace, extract bounce, keep it on a length have been invaluable when the captain needs to stop runs; besides Ishant's stock ball, the one that moves off the seam into the right hander has been a deadly weapon and so has been his ability to straighten the odd one. Zaheer Khan, his senior partner, is now the finest exponent of reverse swing in the world especially to swing it away from the increduluous angle of bowling around the wicket. Zaheer is the best old ball bowler in the world-period, besides being a very canny new ball operator.

The other underappreciated factor in this opening partnership is the long spells they've been able to produce for their captain. With India playing with only 2 seamers in the subcontinent, it has been remarkable that these 2 gents have shouldered the load so manfully.

The proof is in the pudding, these two were Men of the Series against Australia and England, a rare feat for pacemen, especially in India.


The Middle Game

Despite a forgettable year for Rahul Dravid, the rest of the middle order were exceptional, with Sachin Tendulkar batting with a freedom not seen since his heyday, in Australia especially and tossing a few monkey's off his back by his performance in the CB Series finals and in Chennai. Saurav Ganguly went off in style, playing what he called his 87 at Kanpur against the South Africans one of his best, as well as a vital hand in his final Test. VVS Laxman was his usual relaxed self, contributing crucially in his lowkey manner.


Strategy

M S Dhoni, took over from Anil Kumble when he retired as well as substituting for him when Kumble was injured, may well go down as the most street smart of captains. Dhoni has been inventive: be it promoting himself to #3(in Mohali) to put quick runs on the board, frustrating the opposition with "negative" tactics; ringing in the right changes even with part time bowlers(Sehwag vs the South Africans, Yuvraj vs the English) as well as being a much better general on the field. 4 of 5 is not an accident.


The End Game

Besides the opening batting, the lower order batting was one of the biggest positives for India. Harbhajan Singh had a stellar year, with the bat, scoring 4 of his 6 Test fifties in crucial match saving innings most of the time. Irfan Pathan contributed with the bat in Perth(although as opener) as did Zaheer Khan. Also under Dhoni, the Indians showed remarkable alacrity for cleaning up the tail, usually wrapping the last 4 wickets within 30-50 runs.


Postmortem

India have an excellent overall team with a resourceful captain, but the need for the Wall has diminished greatly since their frontline attack is so powerful. They must not allow Rahul Dravid to kill the momentum usually brought about by the dynamism of the openers. If Dravid must play, he must play at #6 and no higher.


Strengths

Opening batting, opening bowling, captaincy.


Weaknesses

Aging middle order, quality of backup spin.

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