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Beating India would be Australia's greatest cricketing win

23rd March, 2017
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Who would you pick if you were a selector for a day? (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
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23rd March, 2017
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Forget the Caribbean dream in 1995, the shock Ashes domination in 1989 or the Indian ‘Final Frontier’ in 2004 – if Australia beat India at Dharamsala it will be their greatest Test series victory of the modern era.

And in the years ahead it could become just as iconic as those three monumental Test successes, marking a major turning point for the Australian team, just as they did.

In 1989, when Australia arrived in England they were famously written off by their own media as the “worst team ever to leave Australia”. Similarly blunt assessments were made of this current Australian side prior to their tour of India.

Allan Border’s men deserved the pre-Ashes tag they received, having just been hammered 3-0 at home by the Windies, with each of those losses by a massive margin. Not to mention that Australia had won only seven of their past 45 Tests before that 1989 Ashes.

That gloomy history was tossed aside as Australia produced one of the most unexpected performances of all time, demolishing England 4-0.

They never looked back, losing only seven Tests over the next four years as Border moulded a combative and highly-skilled outfit.

The only thing which stood between that Australian team and world domination was the rampant West Indies. By 1995 Border was gone but Australia had continued to bloom and were ready to steal the Test crown.

They encountered a challenge equally as daunting as that which Steve Smith’s men have faced – defeating the Windies on their home turf.

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Just like the current series, that one also entered the fourth Test deadlocked at 1-1.

Australia had been gallant to push the series to a decider but were expected to be overrun by the world’s number one side.

Instead, the youthful Australian team bulldozed their highly-fancied opponents and officially ended the West Indies’ golden era.

In doing so they began their own period of nigh-on perfection which would stretch for more than a decade, reaching its zenith in 2004 when finally they triumphed in India.

Australia have had several fantastic series victories since 2004, including the 5-0 Ashes whitewash of 2013-14 and the rousing 2-1 victory in South Africa soon after.

That incredible run in late 2013 and early 2014 hardly seemed real, a bit like Australia’s totally unexpected heroics in India this past month.

The difference is that, back then, there was always a nagging sense that it would not, that it could not last for too long.

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The wins against England and South Africa were built on the back of a once-in-a-lifetime burst from Mitchell Johnson and extraordinary support performances from Ryan Harris.

Johnson was never going to maintain such phenomenal form and Harris’ wonky 34-year-old body was forever on the verge of permanent malfunction.

Their dynamic efforts papered over the fragility of Australia’s batting line-up, which was not far from losing two of its pillars in Michael Clarke and Chris Rogers, with no reasonable replacements in sight.

Pat Cummins Cricket Australia 2017 tall

Compare that to where Australia sit currently. Their three pacemen used in this series in India have an average age of 25 years old, and the average age of their top six at Ranchi was just 27. Meanwhile, both their spin bowlers Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe look to have several good years each left in them.

Aside from 33-year-old Shaun Marsh, who was only drafted into the team as a horses-for-courses selection and may well go straight back out of the line-up, not one member of Australia’s first-choice XI is anywhere near retirement.

Their age profile suggests they have significant improvement left in them. The only gaps in the line-up are number six, where Maxwell has staked a claim, and the wicketkeeper position.

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If Australia can fix those two trouble spots they look set to become a commanding Test team once more.

Already they will have gained tremendous confidence and belief from their plucky efforts across the first three Tests in India.

I can only imagine that Australia have shocked even themselves with how well they have played.

Regardless of what occurs at Dharamsala, this series represents an enormous step forward for the Australian team.

Should they manage to execute what seemed impossible over the coming days, it could be the catalyst for another golden era in Australian Test cricket.

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