One would have thought that, down by a match due to the Kolkata shocker, Rahul Dravid & Co would have been girding up for a mammoth fightback, rather than thinking up new strategies that would primarily throw up data for the future.

All else is merely an experiment. And, as promised, he has done exactly that – test, trial, try-out. He experimented with Irfan Pathan, MS Dhoni, Ajit Agarkar, R P Singh and they all came up trumps. Even Venugopal Rao and Suresh Raina neatly fell into the scheme of things and smashed runs aplenty. No nerves on display there, unlike in times before that. Greg's annointing Rahul Dravid as the captain, dropping of former skipper Sourav Ganguly from not just ODI captaincy but also from the shorter form of cricket was also a success. Result? Mr Nice Guy, the unassuming Wall of India, the perennial No. 2, Rahul Dravid has been transformed into a leader possessing a strong will who is leading India not just by example but also by controlling the game with gusto and vision. The best man at weddings is finally getting married!

Proof? Team India handed Sri Lanka, then the No. 2 ODI team in the world their worst-ever thrashing. India won 6-1! India has never dominated a series against ODI biggies in this manner.

What set it all up? The first step was Sachin Tendulkar. How? After a long lay-off post-surgery to his broken wing, Sachin was not expected to contribute to Team India's kitty at all. Yet, he threw the first blow at that knocked out the Sri Lankans in the first ODI where he scored 93. A good second knock came in late.

The score was not so much to Sachin's credit as to Greg's. He sweet-talked Sachin into showing his skills. Now that the bastman is not contributing is exactly as expected. After all, Sachin is short of match practice and it will take time for him to get into his prime form.

It was also Greg who put iron into Yuvraj Singh that gave the relative rookie enough patience to play a patient innings. Mohammad Kaif is lagging though.

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