Opinion Season of fulfilment

They were without their charismatic leader, Virat Kohli. The pitch was more antipodean than subcontinental — in fact, none of the four teams that played in India could grouse about the nature of the pitches, and ironically, India lost in the only Bunsen Burner of a track in Pune. The spin spearhead, Ravichandran Ashwin, was perceptibly tired after the rigours his shoulder and fingers had endured over the course of six months. Australia reckoned they had their noses in front after snatching a draw from the dead in Ranchi. But the Indians didn’t buckle down, and the setbacks only galvanised them to produce their most compelling bowling performance of the season. If the first half of the season conceded an impression that the team was mostly about Kohli and Ashwin, the second half gloriously repudiated it. There was a phalanx of performers, from Cheteshwar Pujara to K.L. Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja and Umesh Yadav. In the final analysis, the season was as much about individuals as it was about the team.

Like all great teams in the making, it ticked most boxes, more than it was perhaps anticipated to. So much so that if its fans believe that they are en route to achieving something magnificent, they shouldn’t be scoffed at, for there is an aura building up around the team, a conviction that this bunch of individuals could bounce back from improbable situations. After all, they have been the No. 1 side for a while, and it’s not a mere accident of quantity, but reflective of the quality and depth they possess. Later this year, though, will begin the bigger quest, that of winning a series overseas, against top-notch oppositions.