Whoever said test cricket is dead or dying might need to check their own pulse instead. This series just completed between India and Australia proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the longest form of the game is also still the #1 form to watch. The last overs in the last minutes of the last day of the last test with all four results still on the table?

Sport does not get any better than that. Add in all the bitterness and rancour of past encounters, combined with the third test meltdown of Ozzie captain Tim Paine and the recipe was simply irresistible.

Now in deference to the 30 sec attention span/dickpic/Instagram generation, for the first time ever I will admit that the influence of T20 on this current crop of players is the main reason we saw such positive play and intent in that final frenetic session Tuesday night. Sundar and Pant were utterly magnificent both manipulating  the strike and keeping the scoreboard ticking pulling out the sort of unorthodox yet effective shots only learned and crafted from playing T20.

The skillsets on display were something rarely seen at that stage of a test match - temperament, confidence and a capability born of having to improvise. Clearly obvious to all watching that the hit and giggle version of the game can also positively influence its most conservative form. And whoever thought anyone, particularly this one, would ever have said that?

The fact that India, without Kohli and losing seven others to injury, managed such a thrilling win was icing on the cake. Do the Australian cricketers even realise how much pleasure they give  the rest of the sporting world every time they lose? A truly amazing series that again proved the best cricket is STILL test cricket.