Amidst the hullabaloo over the war of words on the field and alleged racial abuse off it, the fact that Australia are playing a completely different level of cricket wouldn't have been lost on India’s cricketers.

An escape to victory in the final match of the Future Cup, clearly dominated by the Australians, was little consolation. Wednesday’s narrow two-wicket win will do little to mask the shortcomings of the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side.

Hopes dashed

Following their Twenty20 triumph, India had raised the hope that they could compete with the Aussies. With the truth driven home in an emphatic manner, Dhoni admitted that the two versions were as different as chalk was from cheese. "If you look at T20, we had a very young side, so keeping the intensity going through out the 20 overs was never a problem. But over here, you have to keep the guys on their toes," said the Jharkhandi.

Decidedly, Ricky Pont-ing's men were a superior lot in every department of the game. India might boast one of the best batting line-ups in the world, but it didn’t always look world-class. The bowling was good in patches but mostly patchy, the exceptions being left-arm spinner Murali Kartik and, to an extent, offie Harbhajan Singh. The relatively less intensity in the field meant India were always chasing an extra 20 runs or setting 20 less.

Flawed policy

If India were found wanting when it came to executing skills on the field, there was lack of clarity in their selections policies as well. At the beginning of the series, Dhoni had stressed on the importance of rotating the players. Apart from the expected changes, however, there was hardly any rotation.

"We’ve got to rotate players because we have too much cricket going on and we have to groom youngsters. All of a sudden, they can't come up and perform. They are not replacements for seniors like Sachin, Sourav and Rahul," reiterated Dhoni on Wednesday.

The team management also presented a confused picture on the Rahul Dravid issue, with one voice speaking of the former skipper being dropped and the other saying he was rested.

Backing Hodge

On the other hand, Australia had no doubts about their composition. Brad Hodge fared as badly as, if not worse, than Dravid. The visitors always made it clear that Hodge was the original choice for the tour, and would continue to play despite reinforcement Brad Haddin’s outstanding form.

There has been much talk about youngsters being given their due. But where, and who, are the youngsters? Rohit Sharma, but who else? Dinesh Kaarthick has been around for a while now and while his Test performances have been encouraging, he has had forgettable one-day outings. Robin Uthappa has been getting his opportunities, but the Kodava boy would do well to realise that 50-overs cricket is not just about cameos.

In the end, the 2-4 margin was less damaging than 1-5. India were perhaps a little unlucky to run into Australia immediately after the T20 triumph. But if they have managed to learn anything at all from the World champions, life can only get easier.