Despite being hopelessly outclassed by Australia in the long form of the short game (one-and-a-half matches to date in the seven-game series), there was at least one facet of the second game where India held their own. Leaving aside questions about the composition of the side, the blokes who turned up broke the mild-mannered mould that has shaped Indian cricket for years.

The newly-aggressive approach is spearheaded by the excitable and seemingly fearless Sreesanth, the Kerala speedster. He squared up to two of the biggest men in international cricket, Queenslanders Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds, in a manner that was almost bold enough to be Australian. His courage only adds to a growing reputation as a wild man.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this new approach. As Shane Warne points out, it shows the Indians are committed and passionate about the game. Ricky Ponting, no stranger to making his opinion known on the field, has acknowledged and praised the new approach. Indian fans, too, are warming to the new style – even forming the 'Sreesanth Aggression Appreciation Society'.

'Yelling and gesticulating to a batsman, as Sreesanth did to Symonds, is just silly, and that’s exactly how it looked.'


The danger though, is when the aggression is not backed up by performance. There is no doubt that Sreesanth’s star is on the rise and he has put in some notable performances of late. But the game against Australia was not one of his best efforts, despite capturing three wickets.

When you are getting taken for nearly 7.5 an over, you are better off keeping your mouth shut and bowling good line and length. Timing, too, is important. Yelling and gesticulating to a batsman, as he did to Symonds, who had scored 87 and was dismissed going for quick runs at the end of the innings, is just silly, and that’s exactly how it looked.

Sreesanth wasn’t the only one to take the challenge up to the Aussies. Spinner Harbhajan Singh was also involved in a few verbal stoushes, both as a bowler and when he was out there with the bat. Of course, it wasn’t all one-way traffic. The Aussies are renowned verbal combatants and they gave as good as they got.