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The just-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020/21 was a breathtaking one, full of drama, despair, joy, grit and character throughout the series. India started off leaving their three first team men Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, KL Rahul out for the entire series and Rohit Sharma for the first two outings due to injury. And then a disaster happened in the very first match. They lost Mohammad Shami to injury after the first test and their premier batsman Virat Kohli took paternity leave for rest of the series. However, the worst part was actually India getting bowled out for mere 36 runs in the second innings of the first test, which brought a huge backlash and pressure on the team.
“Can you imagine this Indian batting line-up without Virat Kohli for the text two test matches? They are in deep trouble.” – Michael Clarke.
“There could be a good chance (of a whitewash). With Kohli not being there, there’s almost no one to pick them up after a loss like that.” – Ricky Ponting.
“I just can’t see how they can bounce back after Australia whitewashed them on the third day. Four-nil to Australia.” – Mark Waugh.
“India are going to get hammered in the Test Series.” – Michael Vaughan.
This was what some cricket legends had to say about what was waiting for India in the coming matches. But what followed then was nothing short of a miracle. India bounced back to win the second test despite losing another first team player, Umesh Yadav, to injury. India’s bad luck continued to pile up as they lost Ravi Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Hanuma Vihari to injury in the third outing, although they drew the match with some breathtaking show of day five resilience. And the fourth test? India breached Australia’s Gabba fortress and tamed the home side at a ground where they last tasted victory 32 years ago. That’s how India won the series 2-1.
This is the recently concluded historic Border-Gavaskar trophy in a nutshell, a summary that shows depth of the squad, resilience, attitude, and so many other aspects. It fuels the argument that India does have the most prolific next generation as far as both talent and execution are concerned. Considering the injuries leading to the series, and the consequences and aftermaths of the pink ball test, experts were quick to lash onto India. However, India’s youngsters, well-supported by the calmness of their stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane and the patience of Cheteshwar Pujara, had other ideas. They cashed in, proved their worth, and clinched victory in one of the most adverse conditions down under.
India came into the series leaving two of their front-line seamers back home and further lost three more over the first three test matches. Despite all that, India still managed to find enough quality resources to not only take on the Aussies, but also breach their fortress at Gabba which had been untamed for 32 years. Three front-line seamers, Siraj, Saini, and Natarajan, made their debuts in this series and none of them allowed any respite to the Aussie batting lineup with Mohammed Siraj being the leading wicket taker for India (13 wickets) in the series.
Picking up wickets is essential to win a test match, so is scoring runs. Australia arguably have the best bowling lineup in the world right now with Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood, and Lyon all featuring in the top twenty in the ICC Test Bowler Rankings. Considering the conditions in Australia, they unarguably form the toughest lineup to face.
Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Hanuma Vihari faced the Aussie bowlers with fearlessness, flair, and controlled aggression. Both Pant’s innings were full of aggression and Vihari’s one full of patience despite carrying a hamstring pain at the SCG were instrumental in saving the test. Pant’s knock at the GABBA proved to be the game changer, where Gill also chipped in with a 91 that laid the foundation for the batting to come in an attempt to chase down the target.
During the series, India suffered in the all-rounder section as well losing Jadeja and Ashwin at the SCG. Following that, another two newcomers, Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur, made their debuts at the Gabba where they piled up a partnership of 125 after India being 186/6 on the back of Australia’s 369 in the first innings. These two also picked up 11 wickets among themselves in that very test match.
The way the youngsters of India raised their hand in all the disciplines of the game-- away from home, inside a bio-bubble, under immense pressure of missing out a number of their seniors due to injuries as well as chitchat on and off the field- is the something the whole cricketing world have not seen in ages.
Every time India lost someone to injury – be he a batsman, a bowler, or an all-rounder – some youngster has emerged forward to shoulder the responsibility in the Indian colour. Only two players – Rahane and Pujara – were the constants in all four tests and those two along with MayankAgarwal are the only three players featuring at the historic Gabba Test who also featured in the series opener.
Every team has potentials coming through the ranks – Marnus Labuschagne from Australia, Kyle Jamieson from New Zealand, Lasith Embuldeniya from Sri Lanka, Sam Curran from England, and so on – but the number of backups India have shown that they have at their disposal is maybe unmatched by any other opponent currently playing the game. On that note, Greg Chappell, former Australian cricketer, said,
“Our young cricketers are weekend warriors compared to their Indian compatriots. I am afraid, in comparison, Will Pucovski and Cameron Green are still in primary school in terms of experience.”
Chappell is, by all means, absolutely true with his comparison. The show of resistance and character by this tender Indian test side is unmatched. With the experienced players like Kohli, Pujara, Rahane, facing the hit and making the ground, and the new breed is giving the winning push- that’s the ideal way it is, and that’s 0why this Indian team is the best prospect out there right now.
Ahmed Tanvir is currently studying at Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka (IBA-DU).