India's epochal triumph in the finals of the final triangular series on Australian soil isn't indicative so much of the changing world order as the changing face of the limited-overs set-up in the country. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's decision to plump for youth, and not necessarily for youth's sake, received a massive fillip with the unprecedented success registered by a side in which no player, apart from Sachin Tendulkar, has seen his 30th birthday.

Contrast this with the Australian unit that was battered and bruised during the month-long competition which ended in heartbreak with Tuesday's nine-run defeat at the Gabba. Only three of their 13-man one-day squad were below 30 -- Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson, and James Hopes, if only just. The potential replacements for the now-retired duo of Brad Hogg, 37, and Adam Gilchrist, 36, are leggie Bryce McGain, a ripe 35, and reserve one-day batsman Brad Haddin, who is 30. Matthew Hayden is 36 and not far away from retirement either. Come to think of it, it could be the changing world order, actually!

Young side

To even so much as remotely suggest that India won because the side was full of youngsters will be naive. After all, wasn't their most successful player in the finals the most experienced cricketer in the world? Tendulkar might have felt like an anachronism in a dressing room where at least three or four players would have been in their nappies when the little man made his international debut in 1989; it didn't prevent him from matching, and sometimes besting, the enthusiasm of a fresh-faced and eager bunch determined to prove that their captain was justified in pressing for their inclusion.

Age has generally been regarded as a state of mind, and whilst that might be true for some activities, physical exertions can take their toll with advancing years. A tired body will therefore trigger a tired mind -- and vice-versa -- and particularly in the one-day world of relentless travel and little recovery time between games, it is an opening most teams will take advantage of step in and deliver the knockout punch. Not even the Australians, naturally fitter than their Indian counterparts, could cope with the constant demands.

Which takes us to another interesting topic -- the respective Test and one-day sides. There was a massive changeover between India's Test squad, unfortunate to lose the series 1-2, and the one-day party. More than half a dozen players returned home after the Tests, including the quartet of Test skipper Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, the youngest in that lot at 33. They were replaced by far younger men, but more than age, it was their freshness that did the trick for Dhoni.

Australia, on the other hand, had almost the same personnel in the limited-overs squad as in the Tests. The only ones that didn't figure in the Test squad but were an integral part of the one-day outfit were Hopes and Nathan Bracken; Haddin also had no role to play in the Tests, but he didn't have too much to show in the one-day competition, what with Gilchrist keeping wickets in every single match in a farewell party eventually gone horribly wrong.

Tiredness

Consequently, despite the advantage of playing at home, Australia were punished for their tiredness and fatigue.
At no stage during the competition did they look the dominant, steam-rolling force of the last decade. Without being at their best, Australia won preliminary matches with some ease; that was also the period during which India's one-day reinforcements were finding their feet. Once they got used to the tracks and the conditions, India gradually upped their game, leaving Australia a significant distance behind.

Ponting acknowledged that the Aussies had plenty to learn from India's approach in recent times. "It's quite interesting, actually," the vanquished Australian captain said. "There has been a changeover of just one or two players from our Test to one-day team. When you have a bigger changeover, the guys coming in give a bit more life to the group. Because we have had very similar teams, there was no opportunity for the players to get away from the rigours of international cricket.

In the future, we will look at giving some of our guys a bit more rest during the league stages so that they come up fresh during the finals.

"India quite obviously went with the youth policy and that added energy to their group. It's something for us to look at down the track." It isn't necessarily Australia that does all the teaching!