Every great Test series, like an unforgettable book or movie, has a strong narrative. It has twists, sharp turns, moments that make you laugh out loud and scenes that make you cry. If you go by what we've witnessed over the past decade, five-day games between India and Australia can safely be compared to the body of work left behind by a Hitchcock or Kieslowski.

For me, it began in 2001. I wasn't at the Mumbai game, but my colleagues and I watched open-mouthed over an extended lunch as Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist treated India's spinners with a contempt that they had seldom been subjected to on home soil. The highlights reel also features Michael Slater's tirade at Rahul Dravid, and two wonderful innings from Sachin Tendulkar, one of them cut short by the most bizarre of dismissals.

The Eden Gardens game was the first Test I covered. Like Bob Beamon and the 8.90m leap or the true love that leaves you behind, I could say that it ruined my life. Where do you go from a match