The best ever series in Test history

My stint as India coach may have begun with a home series against Zimbabwe, and everyone knew what was next. A few months later, with 15 straight Test wins under their belt, the Aussies were coming to conquer their 'final frontier'.

Shoulder surgery had ruled out Anil Kumble, which was a big blow during the Tests. Sourav Ganguly took me to a net during the Delhi Test versus Zimbabwe game to have a look at this kid called Harbhajan Singh. Bhajji was quiet and shy during those days, but he turned the ball a mile and it was obvious to see he was a special talent.

We got a group together for a 26-day conditioning camp in Chennai, and I was then struck by the self-belief of the boys. They appreciated just how tough the Australians were, but they were convinced that they could beat anyone at home, and that conviction was pretty unshakeable. Every minute of the camp was planned, we worked our backsides off during training under the intense Chennai sun, Anil coming along to stand at the nets and to help the spinners we had gathered there.

t was obvious Anil would have more useful things to tell them about spin bowling than a former New Zealand opening batsman. During indoor sessions, we discussed the Australian batsmen, formulated strategies and lived. It was a camp everyone enjoyed. Later, we could even boast that in Chennai when preparing for the Aussies, we had lived on fresh air, fruit juice and cricket.

We watched Australia's warm-up games against India 'A' and Mumbai and were gratified to see both the sides running the Aussies close. Well, they ran them closer than we did in the first Test anyway, which we lost in three days. But the game was a lot closer than its margin suggests.

McGrath and Gillespie bowled superbly to dismiss us for 173, but we had the Aussies at 99-5 before Gilchrist and Hayden launched their offensive. To compound my misery after the heavy defeat, I was congratulated in the hotel foyer for the Australian win. An Indian fan mistook me for a member of the Australian contingent, not exactly the show of faith I needed.