World Cup 2015: Australia were a wall that India just couldn't knock down

India haven’t won a single match against Australia during their tour to Australia in 2014/15 season. The Tests didn’t go their way, the tri-series didn’t go their way, the warm-ups didn’t go their way. Yet, somehow, in a turnaround that would have been talked about for years in any sport other than cricket, they managed to make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup. In sport as well as life, what defines us is how well we rise after falling. And India rose well; they rose well enough to make many people think that they had an even chance against a team they had not beaten all summer. If nothing else, this shows the character of this young team. But on this day, man-to-man… Australia were better. [caption id=“attachment_2175351” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  On this day, man-to-man… Australia were better. AFP[/caption] Their best batsman all summer – Steve Smith – played an innings (105 off 93 balls) of sublime quality. India’s best batsman all summer – Virat Kohli – lasted 13 balls and scored one run. Their best bowler in the World Cup – Mitchell Starc – was bang on target (8.5-0-28-2). India’s best bowler – Mohammad Shami – bowled 10 overs for 68 runs and didn’t get a wicket. Their muscle – Mitchell Johnson – got Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and gave away just 50 runs for his two wickets. India’s muscle – Umesh Yadav – got wickets too but he was smacked for 72 runs in his 9 overs. One of their openers – Aaron Finch – hung around and made the start count. None of India’s openers hung around despite getting a start. Rohit Sharma got 34 and was bowled by a beauty from Johnson but Dhawan gave it away when a fifty looked his for the taking. Their X-factor – Glenn Maxwell – fired with the bat, the ball and ran-out MS Dhoni. India’s X-factor – Suresh Raina – missed out with the bat and Dhoni’s didn’t risk bowling him. The third bowler’s slot – Josh Hazlewood – was on target (10-0-41-1) and as good as Ravichandran Ashwin (10-0-42-1) was, it meant nothing. And then, there was the lower order. James Faulkner, Brad Haddin and Johnson made deadly contributions. India’s lower order went missing. The eventual margin of defeat – 95 runs – was a just reflection of the gulf between the two sides. India as a side have grown, they have made strides but Australia were the better unit. Even before the start of the game – India needed someone (read Kohli) to come out and bat brilliantly. Australia by comparison need to just play to their potential. Now, this isn’t to run the Indian team down. It is just to state that Australia were better than India in every department – and well that is how the sporting life goes. Sometimes, you just run into someone better. India’s only problem was that they kept running into them all summer – it was like a wall that just couldn’t be broken down. To their credit, India kept running in… but sometimes, you need to swallow the bitter pill, get better and make that experience count. After the game, Dhoni spoke about the need to not forget the lessons they learnt over the last four months. “We learned a lot out of it, but at the same time hopefully, you know, what the fast bowlers have learned on this tour, they’ll keep that in their mind because we won’t be playing outside the subcontinent until next year maybe, so it’s very important for them to keep in mind what really they have learned. Hopefully they’ll have something, some storage space,” said Dhoni. Sometimes, it is easy to forget the defeats when you go back to India and start crushing every team… it is just easy to take refuge in those victories. But if India want to become a truly great team, they they will have to beat Australia in Australia. And that is precisely why this team needs to take Dhoni’s words to heart. As the Indian skipper said: “In the knockout games, you have to lift your game.” Australia managed to do that and it was at a level, that this present Indian team just couldn’t reach. But even still, it was an incredible turnaround and that is a memory which will stay with the fans for a very long time. From no-hopers to genuine contenders, India’s journey was a stirring one. The defending champions are out – but they sure gave it a good shot. Much better than most of us could have imagined.