I am short of adjectives to describe India's emphatic win over the rowdy Australians, who finally, have been pulled back to earth. They can no longer sit leisurely at the top of the table.

I thought of typing down something on India's victory in the first final on Sunday, but decided to wait till the end of the series as I was not very sure of an Indian upset though I wanted India to finish off things by the end of the second match, which they did in style.

Once again, as always, Sachin Tendulkar stood tall while others rallied around him. Hope, at least this will satisfy all the anti-Tendulkars or Tendulkar-haters.

He peaked at the right time when India was required to win against Sri Lanka (though he was considered out of form). He started with a blitzkrieg 66 against the Lankans, which signaled his arrival. He then crafted a careful, calculated and decisive 117 against the arrogant Aussies in the first final, and ultimately came up with a matured, patient and masterful knock of 91 in the second final.

It's true that "when the going gets tough, the tough gets going."

Regarding other team members, Dhoni has marshaled his troops very well, in fact, the selected players responded to his call very well. Ishanth was superb and was unlucky to have missed the second finals. Praveen Kumar really was up to the task while Irfan delivered when matter. Despite being in great form, Gambhir threw away some great opportunities while Yuvraj showed glimpses of his ability.

As for Australia, at least Gilchrist deserved a better farewell. Captain Ricky Ponting, Symonds and Hayden got what they deserved. Ponting should be blamed for being arrogant and concentrating more on creating troubles for a few Indian players than correcting his form and the Australian batting lineup. Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken were aggressive but were gentlemen. I feel sorry for Lee as he was impressive in his new avatar as the spearhead of the Australian attack.

A special congratulation to Bhajji for being very strong and enduring the unnecessary havoc and mental pressure created by the Kangaroos, and for performing under pressure.

This series will remain etched in the memories of a lot of Indians as one of the greatest victories ever.

This title aptly suits this great little master, who over the years have enthralled millions of people across the world with his amazing talent. His passion for and commitment to the game is unquestionable and he has always given his best to the team. Still, there are some people who say and will say that he fails to perform under pressure more often than not. They often compare him with Lara and Ponting, a few batsmen who come close to this batting wizard, saying Tendulkar doesn't stand up when the team needs him badly.

No doubt, he has succumbed to high pressure situations on a number of occassions and let his fans down, especially in the longer version of the sport. Rahul Dravid might have played more number of important and decisive innings than the little master and contributed heavily whenever India won a test match overseas.

Still Sachin has played some memorable innings in his illustrious career spanning more than 16 years- 148* at Sydney in 1991-92, pain-filled 136 against Pakistan in Chennai, 155* against Australia at Chepauk, 169 at Cape Town against SAF where he was fighiting against all odds, his comeback 241* at Sydney, etc. - which many batsmen would love to have against their names. Sachin has not played an innings like VVS Laxman's marathon at Kolkata (though his Chennai innings against Pakistan comes close to this) and I would agree with this. But Laxman's was once in a life-time innings and hope Sachin plays one such innings before bidding adieu.

Still Sachin is above all. He is still a special talent, a batsman from a totally different world. First, Sachin is not in the same league as Jaffer, Ganguly, Laxman, Ponting, Lara and even The Wall. Every time he goes out to bat, along with him come huge expectations of millions of people and his team mates, his own mountainous statistics and of course the position of his team (which is often in trouble given no consistent openers during the last decade). Never forget this is also true for Rahul Dravid, whom yours truly considers one of the best batsmen in the history of Test cricket.

The pressure Sachin has been handling since the mid-nineties is simply unbelivable. Never in his career did Sachin showed signs of frustration or anger in public. He was teased and tormented during India's tour of Australia in 1999-00 and had a forgettable tour of South Africa in 1996-97. During both the tours, he was the captain handling mediocre Indian teams. Not many would have come out of such trauma but Tendulkar came through with flying colours and importantly he is still serving the game.

Lara and Ponting come closer to Sachin but they are not as consistent as him. Of course, Ponting is in a form of his life during the last two years but has a strong team. But Sachin is altogether a different story. Support has come to him only during the last two-three years.

Regarding one-day cricket, he is the best and will remain the same for decades to come. We couldn't watch Sir Don Bradman or Sir Garfield Sobers or Ranjit Singhji play but we are lucky that the maestro belongs to our generation.

Finally, for all who believe Sachin should retire, my advice is to keep quiet and enjoy the craftsman at work. He has still got 3-4 years of cricket left in him.