All credit to our openers: Gavaskar; Australians incapable: Dean Jones

Mohali has been Team India's happy hunting ground against the Australians. When India defeated the Aussies by six wickets on Monday, it completed a hattrick of victories, the previous two being by 320 runs in October 2008 and by one wicket in October 2010. NDTV expert Sunil Gavaskar refuses to label Michael Clarke's as the "weakest" of them all.

After India took a 3-0 lead and regained the Border-Gavsakar Trophy, the Little Master said: "You can't pick the opposition team, you have to play against what the opposition puts on the field, and that's what Indians did.  So a win is a win and a ton is a ton. Instead of saying if this is the weakest Australian team, we should celebrate the intensity in which the Indians played in these three Tests.  This is probably the most inexperienced Aussie team to have come to India. And it is telling on the them."

While skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni picked out pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar as the man who changed the course of the match with a three-wicket haul when Australia batted on Sunday evening for the second time, Gavaskar feels it were openers Shikhar Dhawan (187) and Murali Vijay (153) who set it all up.

"Dhawan's was a massive contribution. Usually openers facing a score of over 400 are under pressure to play a steady knock, but Dhawan took the game away from the Aussies with his audacious innings. That helped Vijay in his batting, who continued from his Hyderabad Test form. The opener were the ones who set the game up for India," reasoned Gavaskar.

But Gavaskar is more excited in the manner India scored a win in a Test match where a full day was lost to the elements.  

"I am over the moon. Team India have not scrapped out victories but have won by handsome margins. In Mohali, they might have taken the match close, but let's not forget Australia had scored over 400 runs in the first innings and we had lost the first day's play due to rain. So, to overhaul all that and to win in the manner that they did, is fantastic for Indian cricket. I hope that this is just the momentum Indian cricket needs as they go to the future," Gavaskar said.

It's been a series where former Australian star batsman Dean Jones has had little to cheer about. Of the last Ten Tests played by Australia in India, they have lost eight and drawn the remaining two.
India have won six successive Tests against Australia in India since November 2008.

"The Australians psychologically with the bat and with the ball, haven't really worked their way out here. The England boys did it, they did it very well.  In India, you need good bowlers who can reverse swing the ball, that was proven by (Mitchell) Starc and (Peter) Siddle who were superb on Monday. We still need to have two good frontline spinners. None of our young bowlers back home learn on how to bowl on hard and dry pitches. The players aren't good enough," said Jones.

"Sadly for Australia, if Starc had not got those runs Sunday, this game could have been done and dusted with a day to spare. On a flat deck, our batsmen have no idea of how to start an innings here, how to use their feet to the spinners, they are completely out of their depth. We are getting absolutely belted out here. Like Sunny was feeling very upset two years ago after the Australia tour. I know how it feels now - really ugly," the Aussie expert added.