- Indescribable, unbelievable, speechless, astonishing, breathtaking, adventurous, indomitable….the adjectives will fail to describe the way the Indian Cricket team battling injuries, missing first-pick players, abuse, racism, top-class opponent, and inexperience achieved the seemingly insurmountable feat of defeating the Aussies in the fortress called the Gabba, Brisbane on a wearing fifth-day pitch by chasing 328 to win the fourth Test match as well as clinch the series 2-1. Team India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy it had won in 2017-18 with an identical margin of 2-1. Undoubtedly, this historic series win will easily go down as the greatest series win for Team India surpassing the previous achievements by a long distance.
PC: Varun Shetty
- Every Indian cricket lover should feel proud about the fact that the last time the Aussies were defeated at Gabba was in 1988 under the leadership of Sir Vivian Richards of the West Indies and stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane will find his name permanently etched alongside one of the greats of the game. True connoisseurs of the game would appreciate how the never-say-die approach, grit, determination, fearless, and belief to achieve success propelled this team primarily composing of rank newcomers making international debuts defeated the much-fancied Australian team in their den to own the much-coveted trophy. A monumental achievement indeed.
- The team that was annihilated in Adelaide Test for a paltry 36 in the second innings could go on to record a win in the Melbourne Test on the back of an inspiring century from the Captain Ajinkya Rahane simply turned the table to emerge victorious on the back of some scintillating performances from thereon. The Sydney Test was drawn following last innings heroics from Ravichandran Ashwin and Shardul Thakur, known for bowling skills rather than batting exploits. Cometh the decider at Brisbane, out came the free-flowing spirits of the youngsters viz. Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sunder, and Shardul Thakur rising games to stratospheric heights. And the result is mindboggling, no less.
PC: Nityanand Pathak
- Of course, no words are enough to describe the contributions of the dour but extremely effective batsmanship of Cheteshwar Pujara for holding one end for a considerable period to lend reassuring presence for the youngsters and allowing them to go about essaying free-flowing stroke-play with gay abandon. Not for nothing, it is emphasized that the bowlers win matches and here the inexperienced pace bowling combo of Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur snared nine Aussie wickets in the second innings of the decider to restrict the home team to a manageable score. Chasing in a fourth innings is never easy and especially on the fifth-day pitch is challenging. Having achieved the incredible will leave many astounded.
- No praise is less the way free-flowing opener Shubman Gill provided the much-needed impetus by cracking an admirable 91 followed by an unbeaten 89 by the X-Man of the team Rishabh Pant to cross the line with ease. Vilified by the experts and all sundry, Pant has it in him to go cracking to up the ante anytime during the match and he proved why he is persisted by the Team Management though his glove-work is still a work in progress. But when it mattered most, Pant delivered emphatically and with lots of chutzpah/style. A great team effort worth savoring for eternity. Well done Team India!
