Tributes will be paid to India\u2019s resilience and character, and deservedly so, after the visitors brought the curtains down on a humdinger of a Test series with a historic win at the Gabba.
\nBreaching an Australia fortress which has stood over 32 years is no mean feat after all, especially with a massively depleted squad missing its entire first-choice bowling attack and the best batsman. That they pulled off the highest successful run chase in Brisbane to pull off the spectacular makes fourth-Test victory all the more commendable.
\nIt was a victory of several things for India, from their grit to bounce back from the humiliation of being bowled out for just 36 in the opener to their remarkable composure under all kinds of adversities. Above all, though, it was a moment where they truly flexed their superpower status in the sport at the rest of the cricketing world.
\nThey had already attained a maiden series win on Australian soil two years ago, when they beat hosts sans Steve Smith and David Warner by the same margin. Yet the highs of that tour pale in comparison to the statement they have made Down Under this time round.
\nThis was an Australia side which contained three players apiece in the top 10 of the ICC Test rankings for both batsmen and bowlers. They also boasted the No1 ranked batsman and bowler in the form of Steve Smith and Pat Cummins respectively.
\nPakistan and a high-flying New Zealand had been whitewashed in emphatic fashion in the previous Australian summer. Many worried the same fate would await India after their Adelaide debacle.<\/p>\n
Despite being stripped of eight of their first-choice XI by the time of the Gabba decider, Ajinkya Rahane\u2019s troops managed to do the unthinkable. They had to dig deep into their reserves to cobble together a playing XI for Brisbane, with the quarantine rules severely handicapping their chances of flying in any injury replacements.
\nIn the end they fielded Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur and T Natarajan \u2013 three primarily white-ball specialists who had only stayed back in Australia to double up as net bowlers. All three of them played starring roles in the victory, with Sundar and Thakur\u2019s all-round displays being the cornerstones of Australia\u2019s downfall.
\n21-year-old Shubman Gill sizzled on his debut series and his enterprising 91 on a fifth day pitch was instrumental in setting up the platform for Tuesday\u2019s victory. The job was duly finished off by 23-year-old Rishabh Pant, whose unbeaten 89 brought the fortress crumbling down at the Gabba.
\nAnd who can forget Mohammed Siraj\u2019s hand in all of this, with the Hyderabad man leading India\u2019s bowling attack with such poise after only making his debut two Tests ago.
\nAustralia is a tough place for any visiting player, let alone a string of debutants with a handful of first-class appearances between them. That the young guns and white-ball specialists of India were still unfazed by the humongous challenge before them is testament to India\u2019s burgeoning power at the helm of the game.
\nIt isn\u2019t too far fetched to think that a cricket crazy population of well over a billion can stitch together three playing XIs between them. However, it does show the strength in reserves that newcomers can be thrown into the cauldron of the highest-quality Test cricket and still emerge unscathed from the fire.
\nPlaying against the most elite cricketers in the world is nothing new for India\u2019s emerging generation who have honed their skills alongside the biggest players in the world during the Indian Premier League. That is why an unheralded T Natarajan can be thrust into his maiden international series and pick up wickets by the bucket loads in the preceding limited-overs clashes.
\nThat is also why a 21-year-old Washington Sundar can excel with both bat and ball at the Gabba despite having played just 12 first-class matches previously in India.<\/p>\n
This brave new India was epitomized by Sundar on the final day when he hooked a marauding Pat Cummins for a huge six. The match was balanced on a knife\u2019s edge after Cummins\u2019 late breakthroughs had infused a fresh lease of life into Australia.
\nFor the first time in the day, doubts were starting to emerge about India\u2019s potential to go for a win instead of holding out for a draw. That bold shot by Sundar erased all such worries, with India motoring towards a fine victory subsequently under Pant\u2019s guidance.
\nYears of financial dominance is now finally starting to translate at the ground level for India and they now have a domestic infrastructure to churn out talents by the thousands. They have the biggest resources, the largest talent pool and the most passionate cricket base to establish an empire unlike any which has been seen in the sport previously.
\nThe passion for the sport in the country is akin to football\u2019s popularity in Brazil. Unlike the South American footballing giants, India\u2019s financial muscle means they don\u2019t have to worry about losing their best talents to other countries.
\nEverything is in place for them to dominate cricket for decades to come, and the new India has laid down a bold marker in Brisbane.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tributes will be paid to India\u2019s resilience and character, and deservedly so, after the visitors brought the curtains down on a humdinger of a Test series with a historic win at the Gabba.
\nBreaching an Australia fortress which has stood over 32 years is no mean feat after all, especially with a massively depleted squad missing its entire first-choice bowling attack and the best batsman. That they pulled off the highest successful run chase in Brisbane to pull off the spectacular makes fourth-Test victory all the more commendable.
\nIt was a victory of several things for India, from their grit to bounce back from the humiliation of being bowled out for just 36 in the opener to their remarkable composure under all kinds of adversities. Above all, though, it was a moment where they truly flexed their superpower status in the sport at the rest of the cricketing world.
\nThey had already attained a maiden series win on Australian soil two years ago, when they beat hosts sans Steve Smith and David Warner by the same margin. Yet the highs of that tour pale in comparison to the statement they have made Down Under this time round.
\nThis was an Australia side which contained three players apiece in the top 10 of the ICC Test rankings for both batsmen and bowlers. They also boasted the No1 ranked batsman and bowler in the form of Steve Smith and Pat Cummins respectively.
\nPakistan and a high-flying New Zealand had been whitewashed in emphatic fashion in the previous Australian summer. Many worried the same fate would await India after their Adelaide debacle.<\/p>\n
Despite being stripped of eight of their first-choice XI by the time of the Gabba decider, Ajinkya Rahane\u2019s troops managed to do the unthinkable. They had to dig deep into their reserves to cobble together a playing XI for Brisbane, with the quarantine rules severely handicapping their chances of flying in any injury replacements.
\nIn the end they fielded Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur and T Natarajan \u2013 three primarily white-ball specialists who had only stayed back in Australia to double up as net bowlers. All three of them played starring roles in the victory, with Sundar and Thakur\u2019s all-round displays being the cornerstones of Australia\u2019s downfall.
\n21-year-old Shubman Gill sizzled on his debut series and his enterprising 91 on a fifth day pitch was instrumental in setting up the platform for Tuesday\u2019s victory. The job was duly finished off by 23-year-old Rishabh Pant, whose unbeaten 89 brought the fortress crumbling down at the Gabba.
\nAnd who can forget Mohammed Siraj\u2019s hand in all of this, with the Hyderabad man leading India\u2019s bowling attack with such poise after only making his debut two Tests ago.
\nAustralia is a tough place for any visiting player, let alone a string of debutants with a handful of first-class appearances between them. That the young guns and white-ball specialists of India were still unfazed by the humongous challenge before them is testament to India\u2019s burgeoning power at the helm of the game.
\nIt isn\u2019t too far fetched to think that a cricket crazy population of well over a billion can stitch together three playing XIs between them. However, it does show the strength in reserves that newcomers can be thrown into the cauldron of the highest-quality Test cricket and still emerge unscathed from the fire.
\nPlaying against the most elite cricketers in the world is nothing new for India\u2019s emerging generation who have honed their skills alongside the biggest players in the world during the Indian Premier League. That is why an unheralded T Natarajan can be thrust into his maiden international series and pick up wickets by the bucket loads in the preceding limited-overs clashes.
\nThat is also why a 21-year-old Washington Sundar can excel with both bat and ball at the Gabba despite having played just 12 first-class matches previously in India.<\/p>\n
This brave new India was epitomized by Sundar on the final day when he hooked a marauding Pat Cummins for a huge six. The match was balanced on a knife\u2019s edge after Cummins\u2019 late breakthroughs had infused a fresh lease of life into Australia.
\nFor the first time in the day, doubts were starting to emerge about India\u2019s potential to go for a win instead of holding out for a draw. That bold shot by Sundar erased all such worries, with India motoring towards a fine victory subsequently under Pant\u2019s guidance.
\nYears of financial dominance is now finally starting to translate at the ground level for India and they now have a domestic infrastructure to churn out talents by the thousands. They have the biggest resources, the largest talent pool and the most passionate cricket base to establish an empire unlike any which has been seen in the sport previously.
\nThe passion for the sport in the country is akin to football\u2019s popularity in Brazil. Unlike the South American footballing giants, India\u2019s financial muscle means they don\u2019t have to worry about losing their best talents to other countries.
\nEverything is in place for them to dominate cricket for decades to come, and the new India has laid down a bold marker in Brisbane.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24421"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24421"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24421\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24422,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24421\/revisions\/24422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24421"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24421"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24421"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}