India was hungry for redemption and registered a memorable victory under the inspirational leadership of Ajinkya Rahane. They beat the Australians in the second test by eight wickets and leveled the series in the second test at Melbourne on Tuesday.
The 70 run target was a small one but it was difficult for a team that got bowled out for 36 just a few days ago as it was playing at the bank of their minds.
An unbeaten 35 by Shubman Gill and 27 not out by Ajinkya Rahane overhauled the score in just 15.5 overs and gave their side a fantastic victory.
Magical consistency was shown by the quartet of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja and bowled brilliantly in the 100 overs that they bowled on one of the flattest decks. The only go-to weapon in the track was the extra bounce.
Since the turn of the new millennium, a lot of memorable overseas victory are registered by the Indian team. But Rahnae along with his brilliant bowling unit is going to get a special mention in the history pages.
The Indian team from the past had some humiliating defeats but now things are different with this team. The way they have made the comeback in the absence of Kohli and also Shami is brilliant. The calf muscle injury to Umesh Yadav also reduced the bowling attack of five to four.
But in the last three and a half days, Rahane with his century and great leadership have proved Kohli right when he spoke about ‘New India’.
The mental fortitude of the stand-in skipper shone brilliantly as team India bury the ghosts of Adelaide and the cobwebs were cleared in their minds when they got the Aussies out for 195 and 200 in both the innings.
Rahane’s test match place was in question for almost 18 months now but his new avatar as captain cool has bamboozled the opposition because of his brilliant marshaling of the resources and tactical acumen.
On the first day of the match, the moisture on the surface was assessed and Ashwin was given the ball before Siraj who made his debut in the test match. The leg gully is specifically placed by Steve Smith and the Indians became successful with their ploy. Siraj hit the ball hard on the deck as the old kookaburra seamed on the flat deck.
Rahane batted brilliantly with the very young Gill and also orchestrated a partnership with the seasoned Jadeja.
According to Rahane, his century made at Lord’s was his best that came six years ago but the Melbourne inning is way more precious for the fans.
Rahane gave a three-over spell to Bumrah and it took him very little to understand that the old ball is not doing much and so he gave him the fresh new ball in the second spell as a tactical move.
