On this day in 2021: India won hearts and minds of cricket fans by breaching the Gabbatoir fortress in Australia
Cummins gave it his all, Australia did everything to stop. All in vain. India won the match by three wickets with 18 balls remaining.
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India won hearts and minds of cricket fans by breaching the Gabbatoir fortress in Australia
The Gabba was a big fortress for the Aussies. Winning there, Down Under, was next to impossible. That was till the decider of the Gavaskar-Border series in 2021 happened. In 32 years, the Aussies had never lost there. And then came that lion-hearted showing from Team India, led by Ajinkya Rahane and coached by Ravi Shastri as Gabbatoir became an abattoir for the Aussies. They lost, whined, while the Indians wined and dined, in celebration!
Why do visiting teams find it near impossible to win in Brisbane? Simply because the pacer-friendly pitch provides ideal bounce and swing for the Aussie lethal pace attack. While the hosts had fast and furious bowlers like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, India looked weak. On paper. Then came the magic, as minus Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, the dice was loaded in favor of the Aussies. Worse, veteran and wily off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin along with Hanuma Vihari were also ruled out of the fourth Test.
Watch the highlights of the match and relive the historic moment:
Aussie skipper Tim Paine won the toss and decided to bat first. India got early breakthroughs and sent openers David Warner and Marcus Harris packing to the pavilion. Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne were the threats. But Washington Sundar got rid of the former to the relief of Team India.
But they couldn’t break the partnership of Labuschagne and Matthew Wade easily. The duo stitched a 113-run stand, with the former completing his century at home ground. Left arm swing pacer T. Natarajan came and broke it, dismissing Wade. Two over later, Natarajan, Nat for many, dismissed the big fish, Labuschagne. Later, Cameron Green and Tim Paine contributed 97 runs as Australia reached 369/10.
Australia did everything to stop. All in vain
India had a horrible start too. Pat Cummins with the new ball is absolutely dangerous, and he rarely fails to claim a wicket. He dismissed Gill and then Nathan Lyon got rid of Rohit Sharma (44). Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane attempted to stabilize the innings but failed when Hazlewood dismissed the former.
India were at 186/6 and Australia were eyeing a huge lead when a courageous batting from Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur drove the total to 336, with both completing their respective maiden half-centuries.
Australia were leading by 33 runs. David Warner and Marcus Harris gave a fiery start in the second innings, garnering an 89-run stand for the first wicket before Shardul Thakur broke it, giving the first breakthrough to India. A combined contribution from Steve Smith (55), Cameron Green (37), Tim Paine (27), and Pat Cummins (28) took them to 294.
India needed 327 runs to win. Again, they had a poor start, owing to Cummins’ dismissing Rohit. Youngster Shubman Gill played a breathtaking innings, scoring 91 runs. Then Cheteshwar Pujara completed his half-century. He was unshakable, he took 211 balls to reach 56 when, finally, the No.1 bowler Cummins sent him packing. He did this prior to dismissing Ajinkya Rahane for 24.
India were at 265/5, they had not enough overs left, which also gave a glimmer of hope to the host. Then entered Rishabh Pant. The knock he played will be remembered in ages to come. He didn’t care which bowlers he was facing and kept smacking the balls toward the boundary with his unorthodox strokeplay.
Cummins gave it his all, Australia did everything to stop. All in vain. India won the match by three wickets with 18 balls remaining. That’s it. India won the hearts and minds of cricket fans by snatching victory from Australia at their favorite ground. Pant was awarded the Player of the Match, and Cummins received the Player of the Series trophy. Still smells so fresh!
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Gouri Das
(4721 Articles Published)