India must celebrate and move on

Harsha Bhogle: "It's more difficult to stay at the top than to get there"

India have not set foot on the summit by stepping off a helicopter; they have got there after establishing several base camps and making steady, sometimes hazardous, progress. India's ascent is not a point, it is currently a curve; it is not a moment in time but part of a phase. Any attempt to think otherwise would be unfair and shortsighted.

And so while India must celebrate, it must be with a sense of history. This lot of players has put the ribbon on the box, but the cake was baked by many; they have scored a goal but you usually cannot do so unless someone has passed the ball to you. And that is why the only aspect of this moment that disturbs me is the cash award to this team. I am not a huge fan of cash awards to professional players - they are presumably paid to win anyway - but the announcement of this particular one ignores the fact that various others set it up over the last five years.

In particular, India have been served by three very fine captains before the hugely impressive current incumbent. Very few good teams win with inadequate leaders anyway. Under Sourav Ganguly, India realised that winning overseas was an option, and India have much for which to thank a player the world found very convenient to misunderstand. Rahul Dravid was the perfect captain to follow, with his strong commitment to the team and to the cause. It is easily forgotten that under him India won in the West Indies for the first time in 35 years and in England for the first time in 21. And Anil Kumble was the leader at a decisive moment in Indian cricket: in Australia in 2008, where the Test win in Perth must rank on par with the win at Kolkata in 2001 for significance.

Don't forget, too, that Mahendra Singh Dhoni's  current record reads: played 10, won seven, lost zero. Included in that is a series win against Australia, an away win in New Zealand, and now one against Sri Lanka. There are no freebies there. Something is right in Indian cricket.Indeed, India's current position is good for world cricket, as indeed South Africa's little reign at the top was. Three teams competing for No. 1 is always better for the sport than a giant blocking everyone's path.