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Adam Gilchrist has finally called it a day. Not that he has decided to retire when he is at the peak of his career. He had been saying for some time that his body wasn’t responding fully to the needs of international cricket. He needs to be praised for realising and accepting the reality and quitting before being kicked out!

Australian cricketers have time and again chosen to retire when at their peak. This includes Warne and McGrath last year. Sadly this is not true for Indians. We have some stubborn gentlemen heel bent on being kicked out.

Vengsarkared is being coined as a new term for individuals in any field who fulfil any one or more of the following criteria:

1. Someone who is axed even after being consistently good in form/performance
2. Someone who is too smart for the team leader
3. Someone who is in his mid-thirties
4. Someone who has scored more than 10000 runs (in cricket), e.g., Dravid and now Ganguly.

(Note: Sachin could be the next, going by criteria 3 and 4 above, but he will escape the axe because he is a Maratha)

There could be more attributes, which readers can suggest. In fact this term can be used in any field for someone who has always felt s/he was doing as well as s/he could. But suddenly s/he is dumped to satisfy the ego of the powers that be. If this term were to gain acceptance, Indians could proudly claim to have added one more to management jargon.

Team India’s win over Australia in the Perth Test was the result of a great team effort. The hurt Indian tigers roared, determined not to give away a corner. The fighting Australians’ best moment was the 73-run slog by Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark towards the end of the match.

What was the tonic that boosted the Indians? Sydney and its aftermath definitely had a role to play in the way Anil Kumble and his team bounced back. Of late Indians have shown the Australians time and again that they will not suffer any obscenity. In fact Anil Kumble’s “monkey” dance after dismissing Symonds reminded one of Ganguly’s response to Flintoff’s bare-chested tantrums.

The best part of India’s win was its team effort. Sehwag walked upto Kumble asking Ishant Sharma to be given one more over because he was in good rhythm and was troubling Ponting. And immediately Ponting edged to Dravid at first slip. Pathan’s return with a bang was another plus point. Credit has to go to Kumble for handling the team the way he did after Sydney. To ensure that the team did not go down mentally was largely due to his handling of the internal and external situation.

Kumble, in his short stint as captain, cannot be faulted for much. Except for the delayed declaration at Bangalore against Pakistan last month to ensure Dinesh Karthik’s half-century and the ticket to Australia, he has been flawless. But who knows - Karthik could be opening at Adelaide, given Jaffer’s poor form!