Raman GorayaUpdated January 28, 2012 14:53:58
Australia continued to distance itself from last summer's Ashes humiliation by wrapping up a comprehensive 4-0 series whitewash over India at the Adelaide Oval.
Needing just four wickets for victory on the final day, the Aussies bowled the tourists out for 201 to win the fourth Test by 298 runs with more than two sessions remaining.
On this same ground just over a year ago, Australia was subject to an embarrassing innings and 71-run defeat to England which proved pivotal in losing that series 3-1 and a drop to fifth on the ICC Test rankings.
But under new captain and player-of-the-series Michael Clarke, Australia has been reinvigorated and produced a stunning reversal to rout the world's second-ranked side.
"The disappointment of last summer has inspired a few of us who played in that series to make sure it didn't recur this summer," Clarke said after receiving his award for his 626 runs at an average of 125.20 this series.
"The end result looks like we have won quite convincingly, but I can guarantee it didn't feel like that out in the middle," the captain added when talking to Grandstand.
"We have put a lot of hard work and a lot of time and effort in as a team.
"But it is so satisfying and rewarding to have won this series 4-0."
Indian captain MS Dhoni praised Australia's ability to rise to occasion when a match was there to be won.
"Australia played consistent cricket which was very important," he said.
"Whenever a partnership was needed a few of their batsmen stood up. When it was needed from their bowlers to bowl consistently in one area that's what they did.
"They always stepped up when needed."
Clarke, who said he was driven by his promise to lead from the front, led the series Australian runscorers ahead of fellow veterans Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey.
"It's nice for the senior players to be scoring a lot of runs," he said.
Ponting, who oversaw the Ashes loss before handing over the captaincy to Clarke, said it was satisfying to return to form and help Australia back to some of its best cricket after a loss to New Zealand in Hobart.
"That's what my life has been all about. I'm a cricketer and a batsman and my job is to score runs consistently," he said.
"We want to be heading in the right direction in a hurry."
Ponting revealed he has to work hard on correcting his flagging technique as far back as the tour of South Africa.
"The way my technique had gotten I had to do some things differently with my preparations to give myself the best chance out in the middle," he said.
"(Batting coach) Justin Langer and I have worked especially hard for the last few months to change things around.
"It took a while to come around but the last couple of weeks it has felt as sharp as it has in a long time."
Peter Siddle was named man-of-the-match for his six wickets ahead of Ponting and Clarke, who both cracked double-hundreds in Australia's first innings.
Clarke said his bowlers' ability to back up talent with discipline kept India's long list of star batsmen in check all series.
"It's just about executing our plans with the ball for long periods of time," Clarke said.
"We built a lot of pressure, we bowled a lot of dot balls and I think that has played a big part in the bowling attack having so much success."
Australian bowling coach Craig McDermott, hailed as catalyst in turning around Australia's fortunes with the ball over the last six months, said the reversal has been as easy as keeping the ball up and staying fit.
"When I first started I wanted the fittest attack and our guys have kept themselves in good nick on and off the park," he said, despite losing young guns Pat Cummins and James Pattinson to injuries.
"And certainly being able to execute that fuller length. It sounds a bit boring but it is what gets wickets... we bowl the right balls."
"I think we are on the brink of something really good over the next couple of years."
Australia took 80 wickets for the series while India only managed just 46 and conceded 2,375 runs.
But the blame seems likely to fall at the feet of a disappointing batting performance by the visitor's long list of veterans, who continually struggled on the quick Australian deck despite success in the past.
Former Indian captain Ravi Shastri said there will be a lot of mental scars from India's eighth straight Test defeat on foreign soil.
"They can't do much worse than this. They'll have to rebuild now and identify some youngsters," he said.
"Teams lose, but you want to put up a fight. I thought the attitude shown by some of the players and whole level of competition was below par.
"The real positive to come out is Virat Kohli. He is a player of the future.
"I wish Rohit Sharma was given an opportunity and Umesh Yadav has promise. Apart from that there is very few positives."
Tags: cricket, sport, adelaide-5000, sa, australia First posted January 28, 2012 13:51:54
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