Bucky is ecstatic,he has just returned from the Indian dressing room feeling a little groggy. Bucky just loves these celebrations involving Champagne, it adds spice to jubilation. India just beat Australia by 172 runs to clinch the series 2- 0 making it a win by the highest margin by any team since 1989 against the Aussies, the last one being West Indies. Bucky also bid goodbye to ‘ The Prince of Calcutta ‘ with a heavy heart and a slurring tongue. It was a very emotional moment for Bucky. And Bucky is angry with his his father ‘Ducky’ for playing spoil sport specially when it comes to great players playing their last match. Bucky recollects Don Bradman getting out on a ‘duck’ in his last innings just like Dada did in his. Bucky says - ‘ Trust my dad to spoil the party’. All said and done, Dada didn’t miss scoring in the last innings as the big win made up for the want of runs. The team paid a befitting tribute to the legacy Dada leaves behind by beating Australia most convincingly and clinching a series which will go down in the record books as one of the finest played by India. As Bucky suspected, the Australian batsmen in trying to accelerate and dictate lost the momentum in the innings. But for Hayden(77) no other batsmen posed any sort of a threat to the disciplined Indian bowling attack. Hayden started handsomely punishing Zaheer Khan with some attractive stroke making, denting Khan’s bowling figures considerably. Zaheer went for more than seven runs per over in the eight that he bowled. For a brief period it seemed that the Aussies will make good but once the spinners took charge and Harbhajan got the better of his old friend Hayden the match kept slipping away from Australia. Harbhajan took four wickets and Mishra pitched in with three burying the hope Australia carried coming fresh to bat in morning. The match finished much before Bucky expected since India wrapped up the Aussie innings just before tea with 30 overs in the day to spare. Krejza won the man of the match which he truly deserved for bagging 12 Indian wickets in the match but Bucky feels that the award should have been jointly shared by Krejza and Veeru. Bucky reckons that Veeru’s contribution in both the innings was largely instrumental in India’s win. Never mind Veeru you are my man of the match - says Bucky. Bucky is happy for his blue eyed boy, Ishaant Sharma for getting the ‘Man of the series award’ for performing consistently and keeping the Aussie batsmen miffed. Go on boy, you have a long way to go and so does Bucky as Bucky has to attend the party hosted for the Indian team commemorating the famous victory, he has a special invite. So, Bucky has to rush to prepare for the party. A parting note from Bucky - Cheers to all the Indians.There no time left for
 ’buck buck’ - lets just lift our hands and drink from our cups.

The judgment day has arrived and by the look of it, India should clinch the series 2-0. Australia has to play for a win to equal the series and that’s precisely the reason why this match will see somebody winning. Bucky feels that chasing 382 on a four day old pitch will be a daunting task and to make it happen will require a couple of unforgettable knocks from the strong Aussie batting line up. Having match winners of the likes of Hayden, Ponting, Hussey, Katich and Clarke, the target does not seem invincible but difficult it certainly is. In Bucky’s view the Australians will come out determined with a positive outlook and will approach the innings with much ferocity but how long will the aggressive streak last will depend on the number of wickets they lose in the first session. Bucky feels Australia has an outside chance of winning if they played the first session watchfully. With wickets in hand the remaining two sessions will automatically provide the momentum required to reach close to the target and achieve it. Bucky as an expert will advise the Indian bowlers to concentrate on bowling good line and length and let the pitch do the rest. The chances are that they might throw it away if they tried experimenting too much with the ball though the fact that they have been bowling consistently throughout the series gives Bucky a lot of confidence and re assurance. Bucky is generally accurate with what he predicts but cricket being a game ridden by uncertainties - Anything is possible. Bucky would like to believe that India has already won half the match since the Australians are playing to save the series and the pressure is bound to be more on them but at the same time some of the best remembered knocks in test cricket are the ones which were least expected and which turned the course of the match and cricketing history. Can Australia re create history with a memorable win? Bucky’s golden tip to the Australian batsmen, all for free as they need it badly -’ Maybe the Aussies should inspire themselves by watching highlights of the knock of 281 by Laxman which made India win a historic test match after being asked to follow on by Australia a few years ago.’

Most of whatever Bucky predicted for this day has come true. Bucky had imagined India to pile up a score of around 400 runs and the Indian batsmen have not let him down. India scored 295 runs in the second innings making it a target of 382 inclusive of the lead for Australia to chase. Bucky was certain that Dhoni would go all out for a win and it was eminent with the way Sehwag took charge of the Indian second innings. Veeru hammered the Australian bowlers all over the park for an awe inspiring 92. Bucky is disheartened that Sehwag fell short of yet another 100. Getting unlucky in the 90’s has become a feature of Sehwag’s batting as this was his second score of 90 plus in the series which adds to a string of 90’s in his career statistics. Bucky can only advise Veeru to become slightly careful when he nears a landmark though it seems highly improbable as he is driven more by impulse then accomplishing personal milestones and not to forget it is his impulsive aggression which has helped him score two triple hundreds in test match cricket, a feat no other Indian batsmen has achieved. And most importantly, Sehwag is a match winner and his contributions invariably help India win matches, a trait which sets him apart making him very special with or without the hundreds scored. Sehwag yet again gave India a fabulous start which got diluted by the poor show from the top and middle order and put Australia on the driver’s seat. Dada in his last innings didn’t last and went back to the dressing room without disturbing the scorers and making Bucky’s dad cry again. Sachin, Laxman and Dravid also failed to make a difference and fell cheaply.  Vijay impressed Bucky with a well played 41. Bucky would like to see more of this talented lad. Eventually, the match saving fifties and a crucial partnership(108) between Dhoni(55) and Harbhajan(52) gave India a ray of hope and added the required respectability to the score.Krejza, as Bucky had predicted deceived the Indians and went on to take four wickets with Watson supporting him with an equal number.
The day ended with the match tilted slightly in India’s favor but knowing Australia’s track record of making it count in the big matches, the outcome of the test can be far from predicted. Bucky has his fingers crossed with a few bitten nails as he cheers for India. India … India … India !!!