India went to Australia with a real chance of toppling the world champions from their perch. After being routed in the Boxing day Test match at the MCG, they came to Sydney with their morale down and what followed was hard to believe.

The Sydneygate/Monkeygate, as it is now famously referred to, threatened to split the cricket world. India issued an ultimatum to the ICC to tone down the charges of racism levelled on Harbhajan or it would scrap the remainder of the tour. Finally better sense prevailed and the tour continued, but that did not mask some of the unforgettable action of the Test which the Aussies snatched from right under the Indians` noses.

The match also witnessed some dubious umpiring from Bucknor and Benson, and India suffered ultimately. So two down and with so much chaos, with their morale at an alltime low, India arrived for the Perth Test. No one even in their wildest dreams would have imagined an Indian victory at Perth. But what followed was one of India`s greatest Test wins. It was a total team effort with everybody chipping in handsomely. It also brought an end to the sixteen match unbeaten streak of the Aussies, more importantly the lion had been tamed in it`s own backyard.

India gamely held on to a draw at the Adelaide oval thanks to some wonderful rearguard batting from Sehwag in the final innings. The series had been lost 2-1 but India returned home with their heads held high. This series also saw the emergence of the tearaway fast-bowler Ishant Sharma, the 19 year old from Delhi, who bowled one of the finest spells of the year to Ponting at Perth and has dismissed him 5 times since.

The Test series will certainly be most remembered for a long time to come, whether it was the controversies or the action on the field, it kept the audience spellbound and speechless.

After the euphoria of the Test series, the young Indian side led by Dhoni comfortably reached the finals of the CB series and then in the best of three final series, Sachin Tendulkar took over and crafted two masterpieces in both the finals to help India sink the Aussies. The win was the perfect way to finish the tour on a high and also marked the beginning of Australia`s slow decline.