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Sometimes, even saving a follow-on in a Test match can trigger joy and celebrations at par with a victory. Watching the Indian team battle brilliantly against Australia in the third test of the BGT Series in Brisbane brought joy to so many people. Despite all the flak which Virat Kohli faces for not scoring runs, watching him, Rohit Sharma and coach Gautam Gambhir emote in the dressing room on Tuesday was a great sight. All this was made possible by the brilliance of KL Rahul and the perseverance of Ravindra Jadeja. Yet, as the ‘chase’ for runs was on so as to avoid batting again, what Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep did with the bat lower down was crazy.
One expects Rahul, now almost a certainty to be the Test opener in future with Rohit Sharma failing repeatedly to become a permanent fixture. The runs he scored and the partnership he forged with Jadeja was defining. Runs came even as rain interrupted. And with Josh Hazlewood ruled out of the series following a scan on his calf showing strain, all of a sudden the Aussie bowling was feeling the heat. It spluttered for a change.
It was multiple partnerships which ensured India could fight towards safety. Wednesday is Day 5 and there is heavy rain prediction. Assuming the Aussies get the last wicket early on the last day, weather permitting, they would still have to bat again. Momentum has swung away from the Aussies and this dramatic twist and turn was thanks to the collective batting efforts. There are some who will be trolling Kohli and Rohit, not looking at the larger picture how India have turned it around against all odds. Who expected this tail to wag? Nobody.
All of a sudden, thoughts went back to what Bumrah had said at the press conference on Monday, when asked on his batting. He smiled, as always, and said his batting scores could be checked on Google. At the same time, he said the team is in transition and the thought process is not about one or two individuals failing. Bumrah spoke of backing each other, a typical phrase one would hear from a thorough team man and leader. And the results were there to see on Tuesday as the Indian batting looked sturdy. If Pat Cummins was the go-to bowler to take a wicket each time, by evening, he looked tired. Imagine the humiliation, Bumrah smashing him for a six. And with Josh out of the bowling firing line, the way India fought was defining. The mind went back to Gabba in 2021 when India pulled off a heist. This one is different, there is no scenting victory but to change the complexion of the Test has been defining. It could well go on to change the course of this much-hyped BGT Series in many ways.
Back to Rahul, he has embraced the opener role with relish. More than the shots he executes, what he ‘leaves’ and resists playing the drive outside the off-stump was his hallmark as he scored 84 runs, gilt-edged in every way. Then came the man whose sword dance broke the internet again, Sir Ravindra Jadeja. His batting was, perhaps, most solid, as he scored 77. None of these batters was playing for self, it was for the team. But the piece de resistance came from the tail, where Askash Deep, unbeaten on 27 and Bumrah, not out on 10 made life miserable for the Aussies. After the highs of the Pink Ball Test win, the hosts would not have imagined India would fight like warriors.
There has been so much negativity, so much sarcasm, relating to the Indian team, it needed on positive spark, one push. On Tuesday, it was not about one or two individuals, but a team batting with a large heart. This is defining, and this is truly sensational. Pride, so important is being restored for India.