Seeing MS Dhoni's boys almost snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against a rejuvenated West Indian side in the first T20 International at Florida was no doubt a pleasant experience. Yes, Dhoni, the finisher may have failed to hit the wining run, but let's not forget that in the 20-over format, chasing such a mammoth total of 245 isn't child's play.
Quite expectedly, experts didn't mine words while castigating Captain Cool and even foreseeing his retirement from international cricket advising him to pass on the mantle to Test skipper Virat Kohli. But amid, the volley of salvos directed at Dhoni, one misses the silver lining emanating from the courageous loss.
Team India is here to stay. Team India has it in it to tear apart any bowling attack in all the formats of the game. Team India shows the zeal not to give up, come what may. Looking back, there's hardly an instance when India braved all odds to come so close to victory chasing such a humongous total. Before the Florida encounter, India's highest total chasing was 211 with a target of 207 against Sri Lanka at Mohali in 2009.
But things have changed and thanks to the increasing number of T20 games played all over the world, there's a lot of aggression that players display, be it in bowling or batting. A Chris Gayle scores tons at ease. Kohli makes it a habit of notching up high scores. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Fa duPlessis and AB de Villiers are superstars in the shortest version of the game. In this context, India's rise in T20s augurs well for the future of the game in the country. These boys do not crumble under pressure and dare to take the game right down to the wire irrespective of the opponents.
India's run chase against the Caribbeans is also a proof of the results the Indian Premier League (IPL) yield.
Written off as just a more-than-a month circus by the conservative critics, IPL has won more brickbats than bouquets. But it's the IPL that brought into the limelight a KL Rahul, earlier ruled out from the T20 format for being a strokeless genius. Rahul's century and his partnerships with Rohit and MS in the first T20 last Saturday cement his place in the side for the time being at the expense of the inconsistent Shikhar Dhawan.
Talking about Captain Cool and his captaincy, it would be unfair on our part to write his cricketing obituary in the wake of India's series loss to West Indies. Little can a captain do when his bowlers and the best in business are hammered and slaughtered by two young batsmen. It was one bad day for the bowlers in the park from both sides. But, it's the Indian bowlers who bounced back in the second match dismissing their opponents for 143. Unfortunately the rain Gods played foul and the match was abandoned handing India a series defeat.
On the leadership front in the modified versions of the game, one sees nothing wrong at this point of time though Kohli is breathing around MS's neck. The current ODI and T20 skipper hasn't lost any of his qualities, both as a leader and a player. Beyond bowling and batting, it's the never-say-die spirit of the Men in Blue on the field that captures one's fancy.
These young guns are raring to go and led by a senior pro with an impeccable record, we are on course. On the Test front, Kohli has emerged as the ideal successor to MS leading his side to victory in the Test series against the Windies. And with a veteran like Anil Kumble playing the role of a mentor and coach, both Kohli and Dhoni are laying the foundation for a successful journey for Indian cricket.
So, let's wind up on a positive note. Team India has arrived after a process of transition. The likes of Gavaskars, Gangulys and Tendulkars would be cherishing the emergence of a young side ready to take on the world.
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