India's reemergence in 2008 has been a remarkable folklore of conquests and success after a rather dull 2007.

By Rajarshi Gupta

Walking down memory lane to the ICC Awards of 2007, when not a single Indian was nominated for any of the categories to the spectacular year of 2008 where as many as four Indian stars feature on the list, the journey from near darkness to the annals of history has been worth a glance.

ODI skipper MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar feature in the list of four players nominated for the ODI Player of the Year. Dhoni again joins compatriot Yuvraj Singh to be in contention for the T20 International Performance of the Year. Again, two Indians in a list of four.

However, the biggest reason for a broad grin is Ishant Sharma, who has been nominated for the Emerging Player of the Year alongside Stuart Broad (ENG), Ajantha Mendis (SL) and Morne Morkel (RSA).

The nominations are not only a reflection of the new dawn in Indian cricket but also an emphatic announcement of the way new India plays the game, with aggression and sheer obsession to win.

Tendulkar has been on a roll after a period of inconsistency plagued by frustrating injuries. He has wielded his willow to devastating effect to blast 1,310 runs from 29 matches at an average of 46.79, rattling off 10 half centuries and a ton on the way to come under the radar.

Dhoni, has in the same period scored, 1,298 runs from 39 matches, averaging nearly 50 and blazing nine half tons and one century, besides of course leading his young bunch inspirationally and keeping as tidily as ever.

So now it will all come down to who bathes in glory tonight in Dubai. It will be an assertion of class from India, with a legend in the finishing touches of his career, two young guns sure to stretch the wonderful legacy founded by the Mighty Trinity and a young colt, who has been bent on dealing out raw pace to batsmen round the globe and reminding them of a speed nexus that had haunted his predecessors in the team.

Tonight could well mark the emergence of a new spark in cricket. Till the last name on the honours roll is called, a few fingers around the country would be firmly crossed.