BRISBANE, MARCH 4 - “Yeaaaaaah... Come on now, Jai Hind. Ek Sikh kaafi hai sab ke liye (one Sikh is enough for all).” For all the abuses hurled at him, all the controversies he landed in, Harbhajan Singh had the last laugh — it was more of a shriek, and probably of relief — as he turned to the crowd, clutching his India jersey and waving the Tricolour. India ended their troubled tour of Australia on a high note today, defeating the hosts by nine runs in a thriller to wrap up the best-of-three triangular series finals 2-0. Needing 13 runs from the last over, Australia were bowled out for 249 as James Hopes’s brave innings came to an end with only two balls left.

For Indian cricket, this is a red letter day. This young side has done what no other Indian team has done before — a series victory in Australia against Australia. Probably, better than the 1985 World Series when India became champions. Sunil Gavaskar, who was the skipper then, walked up to Mahendra Singh Dhoni today: “Congrats skipper, really well done.” Dhoni called the entire team on stage to lift the trophy. “I think all 17 players reacted well. As a skipper, all you do is just transfer the pressure to individuals. I go up to Bhajji and tell him, get me a wicket. I think Bhajji has been superb. For all the things written about him, I felt he was almost like Michael Jackson. He was followed wherever he went, everyday his photos were splashed. But I think all these controversies and the backlash worked for us. Harbhajan is a very aggressive and expressive guy, the controversies made him tougher,” Dhoni said. As for Harbhajan, he wants to return to Australia. “I want to come back and play more. It’s a challenge and I like that. I think we performed really well and to beat Australia ghar pe aake (in their home) is a great achievement. We answered them with the bat and ball and that’s how it should be. I had kucch chhota (some small) drama with Symonds and Hayden but that’s OK. It was nice to pick them here and in Sydney because they were in good nick. Symonds is a really good player and we have had some good cricket here,” he said. As the team celebrated, Virender Sehwag and Munaf Patel hoisted a champagne-drenched Sachin Tendulkar on their shoulders and ran around — the master veteran was the one who powered the young team to victory in the finals, first with an unbeaten century at Sydney and with another magnificent 91 today to take India to 258/9. “I think it’s a great victory and this young team has done really well. I think after the T20 World Cup, this is the biggest win. Wins like these need to be celebrated, and we did that inside the dressing room,” Tendulkar said. But this young side knew they had just spoilt an Australian farewell. Then Dhoni put it in perspective: “It’s not about how old the Australian team is, it’s about the young Indian team.” Sorry Adam Gilchrist, sorry Brad Hogg, you will be missed. - By G S Vivek