Australia love Brisbane, touring sides don’t like to play at the Gabba!
Josh Hazlewood
India can celebrate for a year if they can beat Australia without Virat!
Michael Clarke
If Australia win the first test and India lose Kohli, this could be 4-0 for Australia
Michael Vaughan
Yes, all these things were said after India suffered a drubbing in the first Test against Australia, that too registering their lowest score ever in test match history!
But what came after was a belligerent comeback from team India to win the second test, that too in the absence of Virat Kohli. Ajinkya Rahane led from the front and the team showed a lot of character to square the scoreline at Melbourne.
After being down and chasing a huge target in the last innings of the third game, it was an exhibition of resilience from the Indian team, especially Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari and Ashwin. But the masterstroke move of promoting Rishabh Pant up the order did the trick for India as they denied a win to the Aussies at Sydney!
Can’t wait to get you to the Gabba, Ash!
Tim Paine
Yes, a lot of people would not have given India a chance on winning the final test at the Gabba. And adding insult to the injury, India lost Bumrah, Vihari and Ashwin for the last test due to injury. A whole new bowling attack with just 11 wickets before the Gabba test was very weak on paper when compared to the Australian attack with 1013 test wickets! But India bowled with passion and perseverence and got all 20 wickets of the Australians. With over 300 to get on the final day, many would have written off the possibly of an Indian win. But the aggression of Pant combined with the rock solid defence of Pujara ensured that the team breached the Gabba and conquered the series in style!
This was a series that will stay forever in the golden history of Indian cricket. No one man was responsible for the win. Each and every player took the responsibility on his shoulder and it was a pure display of character. The character was evident in the fact that Ajinkya Rahane gifted the signed Indian jersey as a souvenir for Nathan Lyon on his 100th test! Overall it was a great series and some competitive test cricket played between two equally strong sides!
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