Here is a look that changed the way India would play cricket for the years to come, with a bunch of young, spunky charges. By Rajarshi Gupta
When India came back with the Commonwealth Bank Series triumph in the March of 2008, the bells had started to ring. MS Dhoni had led a team of young and energetic men, hungry for success to tame the devils (Australia) in their inferno (Down Under).
Now. The team had no Sourav Ganguly (over 10,000 runs in ODI's), no Rahul Dravid (over 10,000 runs in ODI's) and no Anil Kumble (over 300 wickets in ODI's).
The only one from the Legendary Four, Sachin Tendulkar blasted 399 runs from 10 games, still short behind leading run getter and young gun Gautam Gambhir (440 runs from his 10 games).
The moment of truth had arrived. The transition from the old order to the new era had begun.
India start their journey to glory
Suresh Raina, Gambhir, Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh had started to make ripples in the arena. Virender Sehwag, kept out of the team for the better part of 2007 came back with a bang to announce his intentions and let the world know how it feels to watch a tornado on the field.
Such was the aura and the power of Raina in the STAR Cricket Asia Cup that Ganguly and Dravid were no longer being missed. Gambhir and Sehwag tore attacks apart with a ferocity that struck fear across the globe. The legend of Tendulkar and Ganguly had been revisited.
Ishant's magic spell in Perth
Yuvraj Singh, left in the cold after his poor run with the bat, came back with a bang, scoring two successive tons in the first two ODI's against England.
The biggest and perhaps the most significant phases of transition came during India's sensational surge during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
A young leg-spinner from Haryana, Amit Mishra suddenly found himself walking into the field with his maiden Test cap after then skipper Kumble missed out with an injury. And boy, did Mishra grab his chances or what! A fifer on debut and Mishy was all set to take over the reins from a fading star.
And finally it all happend in Delhi, when at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Kumble injured his finger, trying to get rid of Matthew Hayden. By the end of the drawn Test, India had a newn Test captain. Dhoni was now completely in charge. And as he had done in Mohali, the wicketkeeper batsman plotted another Aussie rot, winning the series 2-0. New India had firmly set foot.
Moments to cherish from 2008
With two of India's legends gone from the scene, the young turks let lose some steam. The world was watching and India were on a roll.
The dice has been thrown. The country's path for the coming years has been paved. 2009 will herald the era of the Magicians in Blue.
