Melbourne : As Team India prepares for a crucial third Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia at Brisbane, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri recalled how an inexperienced Team India played with unity during the last time they toured Australia back in 2020-21 and the way Shubman Gill helped out Rishabh Pant in playing his match-winning knock of 89* which helped India breach 'The Gabba' fortress at Brisbane and lead India to a series win.
India secured an inspirational 2-1 series win against Aussies Down Under in 2020-21, in the absence of star batter Virat Kohli, after being dismissed for 36 all out in the first Test at Adelaide and with injuries to some key players.
By the time the final Test at The Gabba came, all key bowlers like Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja were ruled out of due to injuries. With the team dugout like a hospital bench, the stars had to watch a two-Test young Mohammed Siraj take over the pace attack consisting of a debutant T Natrajan, a one-Test-old Navdeep Saini and an inexperienced Shardul Thakur. Shastri had witnessed all this, from close quarters as a head coach.
However, India braved all the odds, chasing 328 runs on the final day thanks to brilliant fifties from Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and Cheteshwar Pujara to take home the series and hand Aussies their first loss at Gabba in Tests after over 32 years.
Speaking about that landmark Test win, Shastri revealed how the Team India overcame the negativity and distress around them due to COVID-19 pandemic and united together with a mission to script a memorable series win.
"Being locked up and then having to give their best in the middle, and in a country like India where there are 1.4 billion people, there is no sympathy. To hell with COVID, what is COVID, jolly well win the Test match'. That is all they want. So there is no hiding in our part of the world," said Shastri as quoted by Sydney Morning Herald.
"In COVID, the first Test match you start with five bowlers and the same five bowlers do not play the last Test. That says it all, it is like Australia playing without these five bowlers in the last Test of the series, it is a different ball game. Plus you did not have quite a few batsmen as well. So it is a tribute to the players. "You can only do so much as a coach from behind the scenes. At the end of it, it is the players who have to go out there and do their job and they were magnificent," Shastri added.
Shastri recalled how Gill, then a two-Test old young stroke player from Punjab, offered help to much experienced Pant in navigating the final portion of the 328 run chase on the final day at The Gabba.
"I will never forget it. Last session, 140 runs to get. We had two different change rooms because of COVID. I went down from the coaches' room to have a chat with either Rishabh or [Chateshwar] Pujara. When I was about to reach the toilet I heard a conversation between Gill and Pant," recalled Shastri, according to the paper.
"Seventy-one overs bowled, Gill had got out for 91, and they were the two youngest players in the side, 21 and 22. 'Nine overs left, they need the new ball, they will bring [Marnus] Labuschagne on with his leg spin, you've got to score 45-50 runs there'."
"They are planning how they can reach closer to the end score, and no way was I going to stop them, I do not want to change that mindset. So I just walked past and said 'do what you have to do'. In the end, we chased down nearly 150 in that last session," Shastri signed off.
The third Test of the series is set to begin on December 14 at the Brisbane Cricket Ground. Following a resounding 295-run defeat to the visitors at Perth's Optus Stadium--where standout performances from Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Yashasvi Jaiswal were on display--the hosts bounced back strongly with a 10-wicket win in the pink-ball Test at Adelaide Oval, where they were given just 19 runs to chase after a disappointing show by Indian batters.
With the five-match series now level at 1-1, the next encounter takes place at "The Gabba," a venue where an inexperienced Indian side handed Australia their first Test loss in over 32 years during the 2020-21 tour. Also, this year, West Indies had defeated Australia at Brisbane too in a pink-ball Test thanks to a memorable spell from pacer Shamar Joseph. These two losses put Aussies, battling demons of their own, under pressure.