Amid the debris, some gems from the Wall

Mumbai, however, posed a different challenge. He began the match on a losing note (Ricky Ponting won the toss) and ended it in similar fashion. In between, however, he displayed a penchant for the audacious and innovative which almost — though not quite — caught out his opponents.

The most talked about move of the game was his decision to open the attack with a spinner — a tactic that always carries a heavy element of risk. Virender Sehwag was taken to the cleaners by a rampaging Adam Gilchrist — 14 runs came off that over — but Dravid, on the ball, replaced him with Harbhajan.

And his bigger gameplan — of saving Agarkar for the later overs — was vindicated when the Mumbai man, bowling with the old ball, returned the best figures.

His marshalling skills were again called into question when the Aussies appeared to be pushing to a 300-plus total. Again, judicial use of his bowlers in the last 4 overs kept the score to 286.

‘‘The bowlers did not respond to the moves made by Dravid’’, observed former India captain Ajit Wadekar while watching the proceedings from the press box. ‘‘But he hasn’t fallen short on tactics.’’

In the medium-term future, this will gladden the hearts of India’s selectors as it gives them options regarding the captaincy. It appears to be a non-negotiable issue at present but insurance for the future.