India has once again chased down a moderate fifth-day target to defeat Australia in the Second Test by seven wickets and sweep the series two-nil. India's victory followed a similar pattern to the first test as Australia again failed to score heavily enough in their second-innings to post a defendable target. Unlike in Mohali however, India blasted its way to victory with debutant Cheteshwar Pujara (72) Sachin Tendulkar (53*) and first-innings centurion Murali Vijay (37) punishing the tourists at rapid speed. India reached their target of 207 off just 45 overs early in the final session.

Australia relinquished control of the game on the fourth day with a limp second-innings performance. Ricky Ponting's 72 aside, there was a lack of application from the Australian batsmen with no partnership challenging the authority of the Indian attack on what remained a reasonable wicket. Lowlights include Michael Clarke's absent-minded stumping to cap-off a miserable tour for him with the bat and Marcus North's failure to back-up his first-innings hundred. North's highest score when arriving at the crease with Australia less than 150 is just 20. Conjecture over North's place for the first Ashes test ended with his first-innings ton but discontent over his occupation of the number six spot will not go away soon and a poor first test will put pressure on the selectors to regenerate the middle order.

The second-innings collapse will once again mask Australia's failure to take 20 Indian wickets. Peter George, Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson toiled manfully with Hilfenhaus in particular unlucky not to bag more than just the two wickets for the match. The biggest problem in dismissing India twice however was Australia's decision to select just one frontline spinner, and that spinner being Nathan Hauritz. Australia's spinner's first two overs in India's run chase went for 22 while his economy-rate for the Test was mofre than four-runs-an-over. It seems implausible that a side containing such an innocuous frontline spinner could ever win a Test on the subcontinent. Watching Australia play Ojha and Harbhajan like they were tossing live grenades and then seeing the disdain with which India treated the best spin-bowler in Australia was a study in succeeding in Indian conditions.

The man all Australians longed to see wearing a baggy green in Bangalore, Shane Warne, sympathised with Hauritz's plight, suggesting captain Ricky Ponting could have done more to help him. Towards the start of India's run-chase Warne tweeted "How the hell can Hauritz bowl to this field? Feeling for Hauritz, terrible! What are these tactics? Sorry Ricky but what are you doing?"

Australia's negatives should not detract from another solid Indian performance and another masterclass from Sachin Tendulkar. The Indian bowling attack performed well with Zaheer Khan extracting movement when the ball was both old and new and Australia was simply unable to attack once the ball was in the hands of the spinners. With the bat Vijay and Pujara enhanced their reputations and it is possible that either could retain their places ahead of the out-of-sorts Rahul Dravid.

The final word though belongs to Sachin Tendulkar. The Little Master dominated the Test match from the moment he walked to the crease with India wobbling at 2/38 on day two. Over the next three-and-a-half days he became the first batsman to pass 14,000 runs in tests, extended his record of Test centuries to 49 and fittingly struck the winning runs as part of an unbeaten second innings half-century. All this after being awarded the ICC Cricketer of the Year award on the eve of the test. While Australia will be disappointed to have lost the match and the series, history will remember these contests as amongst the finest performances of one of the finest batsmen to ever play the game. There may be issues with Test match cricket but so long as Tendulkar continues to accumulate runs as he did this week there remains an enduring magic unrivalled by the game's shorter formats. With his pock-marked and bandaged bat and in his 21st year as a Test cricketer Sachin remains the game's most valuable ornament.

Australia now has six weeks to regroup ahead of an Ashes series which they will begin ranked below their old enemy. Roll on November 25...