India No. 1 but need renewed aggression

So India did manage to level the series on the final day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka and maintain their No. 1 spot in the ICC Test rankings. But this stint at the top will not last unless India can renew its aggression, especially as they take on Australia and New Zealand at home in the coming months.

Injuries to key players, especially to Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth, did affect the bowling lineup and the dead pitches in Sri Lanka didn't help either, but the lack of a genuine pace attack in the absence of Zaheer is a major cause for conern. The ensuing tri-series will show how much India misses Zaheer in all formats of the game and unless the others can put their hand up and deliver, India will have a lot more to worry about while they put together their plans for the 2011 World Cup.

India's traditional strength in spin though seems to be in a better shape and one must congratulate Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra for their attacking bowling. They did all the hard work on the fourth morning as they scalped five wickets amongst themselves, but again India's pacers failed to clean up the tail. Agreed Thilan Samaraweera is a regular batsman, but shouldn't the Indian bowlers have been bowling the yorkers at this stage to numbers 9, 10 and 11.

But we won't go hammer and tongs at the bowlers this time around. They did an important job of rallying around each other in the first innings and ensuring that India went past the Lankan total, however slender the lead. Rallies like that from a lower order can boost the morale of a team like no other act in a game. And it is this momentum that kept India going in the Test.

Team India is still taking baby steps to ensure that their run at the top of the pack remains for a longer period and the only way of doing that is to play the game with a sense of maturity and grit.

The high point in the game and in the series was India's batting even though they came a cropper in the first Test at Galle. Virender Sehwag was in superflous form right through, while Suresh Raina announced his Test credentials as only champions can.

Sachin Tendulkar too showed that a 37-year-old body still had the hunger of a 16-year-old and VVS Laxman, put on that Very Very Special display just when his team needed it the most. But it was sad to see Rahul Dravid's wall crumble in Lanka. He will have to reinvent his game and find his previous self before the all-important series against Australia.

All in all, India managed to pull off a fine win and MS Dhoni and his Men in Blue deserve to be congratulated after being a 0-1 down in the series and after having lost the toss in three straight games.