Ironically, a couple of days after my post regarding 'old men and old minds' comes the performance at Mohali. This match just highlighted to me the difference that a mindset can bring to the side, even if it be from a guy "who has changed more hairstyles than he has made runs for India", to quote (or misquote, as you prefer) a retiring great.

The Mohali match could so easily have been drawn; India wouldn't have lost, at least not under normal circumstances, and our batsmen ensured that part. That it was not drawn but resulted in a comprehensive win for India was because of actions on the third evening and the fourth morning. On the third evening, the openers played a free flowing game to increase the lead by another hundred, and on the fourth morning, a certain MS Dhoni decided to push himself ahead of the celebrated batting quartet. India has so many batting greats that it sometimes forgets that while runs can be accumulated, they can also be scored. India have been in the position many times before when a good first innings lead is frittered away as the batsmen take way too much time in the second innings essay to firm up the lead and declare. When Dhoni came in at No. 3, it was a gamble not because he couldn't succeed but because it gave an indication that the captain backed himself more than the "Fab Four" to score quickly, and the Tendulkars, Gangulys and Laxmans are not exactly known to be laggards with the bat even if Dravid tends to be more cautious than the rest. It was a gamble not with the match itself but with his chances of making the test captaincy his very own.

Dhoni was standing in for an injured Kumble, and this was on top of a simmering debate whether the seniors should be giving way for a younger Indian team, and if Dhoni the dasher was indeed ready to take over from the ever-cool (except when he defends himself in the media) Kumble.

Those who saw Joginder Singh being handed the ball in two crucial matches in the Twenty-20 world cup would vouch for the fact that the man from Ranchi does come up with some strange ones, but also that he has the heart to back his instincts. Here, had the move backfired and Dhoni been back in the hut within a few runs, while India wouldn't have hurtled towards defeat, there would have been more than a few snickers over the upstart daring to put himself above the Tendulkars and Dravids. Most of the "expert" commentators and columnists wouldn't have gotten the thought behind the move but would have gleefully pointed out how this kind of immaturity would never be shown like an experienced war campaigner like Kumble.

Happily for India, and not just for this test match, the move did pan out for India as Joginder's two over in the Twenty-20 world cup did. Dhoni did keep his foot on the Australian necks for the next couple of hours and it is long since one can say "India declared with time on hand".

My gut instinct is that had the Tendulkars and Dravids come in as they would have with a Kumble leading, India would still have given the Australians a good 4th innings total to chase but with much lesser time in hand. A surefire recipe for a draw! Speculation, yes, but not totally unfounded considering past deeds!

It was a positive mindset which led to runs being accumulated quickly, and when India declared it was with the twin weapons of a huge target (515) and time to get 10 Australian wickets. Lesser time or runs to chase might have lessened the pressure on the Australians and increased the same on the Indian bowlers. This way, it was about when Australia would crumble, and not if.

There is a lesson to be learnt in this Indian victory and it is not about 12000 test runs, though that is special too but in a different context. It is that a cricket team, as with everything else in this world, makes its own destiny. One has to take a positive approach to win and India hasn't always done that.

It doesn't always end with everybody living happily ever after and surely there will be days when the analysts in their post-match comments on the latest Indian defeat would advocate a more defensive approach having been the wiser option. If MS Dhoni does take over from Kumble as the test captain, it is possible that the team sometimes loses matches it would have drawn under the Kumbles and Gangulys. It is however also sure that the team will many more times win matches it would have drawn under the Kumbles and Gangulys.

The lesser the number of draws, the better it is for the spectators of the game. I also doubt if too many fans would mind losing a few more if it means winning a few more.

Expect a Kumble announcement pretty soon!