ISHANT, YUVI & STATS

Former India player, and now a cricket expert, Navjot Singh Sidhu once said, "stats are like mini skirts, what they reveal is suggestive, what they hide is vital." And, when a team like Australia loses, that too at home, be prepared to be bombarded with loads of them - imperative as well as insignificant.

India's five-wicket triumph over the world champions on Sunday, also their first win against Australia at the MCG since January 31, 1986, was indeed very special. Special not only because it came against a bunch of players who are so used of being tagged as 'invincibles' but also for the way the visitors went about their business.

Of course, not everyday will you see a 19-year-old Indian pacer making world-class batsmen dance to his tune and then another teenager playing a patient knock to script a memorable win.
Not many speedsters in recent times have been able to do what India's 'find of the tour' Ishant Sharma has done down under in the past few weeks.

Thanks to his four-wicket haul, the Aussies were bowled out for a meagre 159 - their 4th lowest ODI score since winning the 1999 World Cup. Together with Sreesanth, the Delhi lad was simply unplaybable. Ricky Ponting is certainly one player who is nodding in agreement.

However, there is one man in the Indian dressing room who would be wondering what he needs to do to regain his long-lost form. Yuvraj Singh, with both of his hands on his head, would have probably spent the evening in front of the laptop of his team's computer analyst, pushing the rewind key repeatedly to watch his dismissal again and again.

Well, probably... Here's what you need to hang on your room wall, Yuvi. No, it isn't a poster of any Bollywood damsel but the following stats which reveal more than they actually hide:

Melbourne Test (1st Innings): 0 runs off 11 balls

Melbourne Test (2nd Innings): 5 runs off 10 balls

Sydney Test (1st Innings): 12 runs off 24 balls

Sydney Test (2nd Innings): 0 run off 3 balls

Brisbane ODI vs Sri Lanka: 2 runs off 11 balls

Melbourne ODI vs Australia: 3 runs off 14 balls

Total: 22 runs in 6 innings at an average of 3.66