Hello Guys!
Today lets talk about one of the best if not the best Test series to be played in the modern-day cricket- India’s Tour Down Under. Leading into the Test series, India and Australia had played 3-match ODI and 3-match T20 series. Australia came out on top in the ODI series winning it 2-1. While India got the better of Australia in the T20 series winning it 2-1. Both team highly confident and playing some excellent cricket enter into the Test scene.
India during their tour down under in 2018-19 series came back victorious with Virat Kohli leading the side and becoming the First Asian captain to win a series down under. Yes, Australia did not have the services of their two best batsman- Smith and Warner (both banned) but still, a win is a win and it was surely one of the best test series I had witnessed until this one.
Yes, India coming on top was certainly one of the main reasons for a memorable series but the manner in which they achieved it was just some excellent overall team effort! So let’s dive right into it from the start-
India’s Tour Down Under 2020-21
1- Australia wanted to play the Pink ball test-
Australia wanted India to play the Pink ball test and India accepted the challenge. 1st Test- Adelaide Oval, Adelaide. India wins the toss and elects to bat first. India gets a decent total in getting 244. Virat tops scores with 74. India manages to get the top order cheap but then are unable to get the tail-enders and sloppy fielding add to their voes. The Australian counterpart- Tim Paine scores an unbeaten 73 to cut the lead for India. India still manages to get Australia bowled out for 191. Moving into Day 3 the match is poised.
Day 3 and disaster strikes– India are bowled out for their lowest total in Test History. (36/9- Shami retires with a broken wrist). Some of the best bowling spells ever witnessed. Hazelwood the pick of the bowlers getting 5 wickets in 5 overs giving away just 8 runs! Pat Cummins gets the remaining 4/21. Australia chases down a total of 90 comfortably winning with 8 wickets remaining.
2- The losses that Follow-
India already having lost Ishant Sharma due to injury lost the services of Shami (Broken wrist) and the biggest loss- The India Captain- Virat Kohli was returning back home (paternity leave). The pundits were all over the Indian team. The cries of India losing 4-0 kept growing.
3- The start of Redemption!
Watch the complete video of R Sridhar explaining the events here
4- India finds it’s Captain America!
2nd Test, December 26- Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne. India loses the toss and is told to bowl first. India make 4 changes to their team- Shaw, Saha, Virat and Shami make way for Gill (debut), Pant, Jadeja and Siraj (debut). India starts off well skittling out Australia for 195.
India loose quick wickets but Vihari, Pant and then Jadeja build partnership with the Captain- Ajinkya Rahane. Not to forget Gill’s 45 in his first innings! Rahane sets the example with a well crafted 100! Jadeja’ s 50 help India post a lead of 131.
5- The start of the Debutants show!
Gill played excellent in his first innings facing the best bowling line up. Then in the 2nd innings, it was Mo. Siraj’s turn with the ball and the rest of the unit again restricted Australia for a partly 200!
Injury Alert- Umesh Yadav had to limp off the field in the 2nd innings and India were again a bowler short in their last inning!
6- The series squared 1-1!
India again looses two quick wickets but then the debutant Gill and the calmness of Rahane guided India to one of it’s greatest wins! Ajinkya Rahane was adjudged the Man of the Match for his impressive knock under pressure and excellent captaincy.
7- Australia finally find their batting groove!
The Pink Test- Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney. January 7, 2021, Australia again won the toss and elected to bat first. Australia under pressure field Warner in the XI. He gets out cheaply but debutant Will Pucovski along with Labuschagne score brilliant ’50s and Australia’s best- Steven Smith finally gets going and scores a brilliant 131. Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers with 4/62. Bumrah, Saini getting 2 apiece and Siraj with 1.
8- Australia rile up the pressure and runs!
Australia bowl out India for a partly 244. Gill scores his first international 50, followed by Pujara with a 50 but both could not continue thanks to Pat Cummins. Pant and Jadeja added some useful contribution in the end. Pat Cummins ended with 4/29 with Hazlewood getting 2 and Starc 1. Australia gain a lead of 94 runs.
Injure Alert: Jadeja now had been injured while batting with a broken thumb. India again find themselves a bowler short in the 2nd innings!
India gets the openers quickly but then Labuschagne and Smith score 73 and 81 respectively. Cameron Green and Tim Paine added quick runs to set India a target. Australia declares at 312-6. India needed 407 to win the match with about 132 overs to get the target.
9- Pant’s counter innings and a resilient Pujara
India started their chase well. Rohit and Gill put on a 50-run opening stand. Gill departed for 31 before India lost its vice-captain and captain within a space of 10 runs. At 102/3 we see Rishab Pant being sent at 5. The match poised much in favour of Australia. Pant comes out all guns blazing. The had a reliable partner in form of the new wall- Pujara batting at the other end. Pant played a beautiful counter-attacking inning (thanks to a few dropped catches from Paine). That certainly caused pain to the Australian team. Pant with his positive intent with a strike rate of 80+ missed a deserving 100 just by 3 runs!
Pujara on the other hand played his natural game. He also scored a patient 77 before being castled by a beauty from Hazlewood after the new ball was taken. India was on backfoot now. Australia had their tails up at 272-5. India needed 135 to win. Australia just 5 wickets. Remember that Jadeja was out with a fractured thumb. A few overs and final session remaining in the final day Ashwin and Vihari were in the middle.
10- The greatest getaway! Playing with a leg (Vihari with Hamstring), Sore back (Ashwin) and with one hand (Jadeja) to bat!
The heading sums it all- Vihari tore his hamstring while taking a single early on the innings- Meaning he could hardly run for the rest of the inning. Ashwin had a terribly sore back and Jadeja in next had taken injections just to bat India to a draw (if needed). But that was not to be. Ashwin and Vihari played out till the very end not throwing their wickets away and denied Australia a certain win! The pair batted for nearly 43 overs to save the game for India and kept the series alive.
11- All bark and no Action- Tim Paine’s gets verbal and drops sitters!
Well, the heat of the moment certainly got to Tim Paine. After dropping Pant twice and then when Ashwin and Vihari were holding their fort and not throwing their wickets away Tim Paine decides to go verbal- Watch the video below for the context!
After this, he still was not able to hold catches of Ashwin and Vihari at the closing stages of the match and India came out with a draw. The draw seemed like a victory for India and a loss for the Australian’s as they could not bowl India out on a 5th-day pitch in Sydney.
12- Racial Abuse from the Crowd-
The Australian crowd can surely be daunting but racial abuse has no place in the game. Mo. Siraj and Bumrah both reported racial abuse from the crowd.
13- An apology from the Australian Captain!
Yes, you read that correctly. Tim Paine made a public apology after the Sydney game saying that what he said was out of line and emotions got the better of him! What a change- You hardly see Australians apologize!
14- More injuries!!!
The Indian team was already without the series of Ishant Sharma and Bhuvi due to injuries before the start of the series. Shami bowed out after the 1st test, Umesh after the 2nd. By the end of third Ashwin, Jadeja, Bumrah added to the list of injured bowlers. Kl Rahul and Vihari were injured from the batsman side. Mayank had an injury scare with scans taken before the final match.
15- Net bowlers make their debuts!
T Natarajan, Washington Sundar made their debuts, Shardul Thakur can be added to this list as he had just bowled 11 balls before limping off in his debut test! The Indian team bowling unit had 11 international wickets to its name with Siraj being the leader of the pack- playing his 3rd Test! Saini his 2nd with Thakur and Sundar, Natarajan playing their first!
16- Australia pile up the runs again but India fights on!
The Gabbatoir- Gabba, Brisbane. January 15, 2021. Australia wins yet another toss and elected to bat. India was able to get the openers quick but then Labuschagne and Smith formed a partnership. Smith got out to Sundar then Wade gets in. Australia was looking good for a big score with the inexperienced bowling line-up but Natarajan soon turned this around. From 200/3 to 213/5, Natarajan got both the in-form batsman. But, Paine and Green managed to stitch another partnership.
Green missed out on a 50 by 3 runs, Paine perished after reaching 50. Australia was finally bowled out for 369. Natarajan, Thakur and Sundar all getting 3 wickets each and Siraj with 1.
17- The rise of all-rounders and a new look India!
India started well. Most batsmen got in but some got out playing one shot too many. Soon India found themselves in a hole at 186/6. The Gabba fortress seemed too far to be breached by India. Note- Australia were unbeaten here since 1988- That’s 32 years! But Thakur and Sundar had other plans.
They started cautiously and after settling in played their shots and both brought up their respective 50’s. They had a 123 run partnership between them and brought India right back in the game. India went on to score 336.
18- Australia try to set the target!
India now with just a deficit of 33 looked much more confident but soon Warner and Harris had a 50+ partnership. The Australians needed a win to get back the Border-Gavaskar trophy so they played their shots and took on the bowlers. India managed to keep chipping in wickets just when an Australian batsman was looking set. Smith gets a 50 but India restrict Australia to 294.
19- The rise of Mo. Siraj and Thakur with the ball!
Mo. Siraj was the pick of the bowlers with his maiden 5-wicket haul. Thakur finished with 4 to his name and Sundar with 1. Note- Saini was also injured in his first innings! So basically India again was a bowler short for the second innings!
20- Pant just made the Spiderman song famous (Albert the Hindi version!)
With Pant keeping there is no shortage of Content with stump mic on! Singing the Hindi version of Spiderman Spiderman…..
21- India start positive for the Chase
On a final day Gabba pitch, multiple cracks on it that would cause worry to any batsman walking down to bat in the middle. India lost Rohit early but Gill kept playing his natural game while Pujara made sure no more wickets going drown from the other end. Gill with his positive intent even managed to hit Starc for 20 runs in an over! Gill perished after an excellent knock of 91. Then Rahane and Pujara made a partnership. Rahane soon fell after one shot too many but that’s what the situation demanded!
22- The ever reliable Pujara stands tall!
On a fifth day pitch with variable bounce, Pujara took a lot of blows on his body! To be precise he was hit 10 times on his body- head, arm, wrist, groin, name it all. But he knew the importance of his wicket and stood tall. He was finally deceived by Cummis and given Out by the marginalist of Umpires call seen in recent memory!
23- The Gabba fortress breached after 32 years!
After Pujara fell there was some tension again- Should India go for a draw or for the win??? Mayank soon fell but then Pant and Sundar had other plans. They batted sensibly taking singles on offer. With less than 10 overs left to go India started to attack. They together put on a 53 run partnership in just 51 balls. Sundar fell playing a reverse sweep when 10 runs were needed for a win! Thakur came in played the sensible game but got out with 3 needed for a win. Finally, Pant got a full toss hitting it straight back through long-off and into the boundary marking it as one of the greatest test wins! India breaching the fortress and winning the series: 2-1!
24- The Importance of 19th January!
19th of January certainly holds a memory for the Indian team with some incredible results-
1- India wins the Perth Test (WACA) by 72 runs becoming the first Asian side to do so. (2007-08) series after the infamous Sydney Test. (Monkey-gate scandal and Poor Umpiring).
2- India winning ODI series against Australia (2-1) in 2020
3- Now breaching the Gabba Fortress!
25- Story of the new India!
India played with 20 players in this test series! Their highest in one series. The final test surely had lots of first for the Indian team. It reminded me of the 2000-01 series win vs Australian and a Young Indian team leaving for South Africa for the T20 world cup- A young and a dynamic team with very few expectations, given a free rein, weaving their magic and achieving the unthinkable and etching their names in cricketing history for the future generations to remember!
India proved their doubters wrong and we could see the team do a complete turnaround in 1 month (19th December 2020- 36 all out to 19 January 2021 – Breaching the Gabba Fortress). Patience, Hardwork, a bit of luck and lots of Determination- This team taught us all!
This series could not have gone any better- going till the last day, the last hour with all 3 results still possible until the final minutes. Who says Test match is a lost art! A story that could not have been written any better and India coming on top was like the cherry on the cake!
Bonus-
26- The records, emotions and other controversies!
Thank you for reading! Do give it a like, share it with your friends. Comment below what was your best moments from the recently concluded India’s Tour Down Under 2020-21! For more sports-related blogs click here.
Until Next time, Ciao
Vivek Nair
