The Gabbatoir Breach.....
I know that when it comes to cricket the "Men in Blue" have a uncountable achievements in their bucket list starting from the win of the world cup in 1983 to the lifting of the cup in 2011 by MS Dhoni. When it comes to individual achievements the list is even bigger with the names like Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli etc etc...
Whether it is the 6 sixes from Yuvraj Singh or a hattrick from Md. Shami , all of them it becomes the talk of the town. Generally the light is taken away with the achievement from ODI, or T20. Sometimes it feels that the due credit which should be given to the test achievements is rather less. However, the victory of India against the Aussies at the Gabba which is considered to be the "Kangaroos" fortress after almost 32 years of reigning victory march has made Team India something special and those 11 eleven players to participated in the game has registered their names in the annals of the history.
The day 19th JAN, 2021 is the day which will be remembered by the generations to come. Amidst this global pandemic times where things are quite gloomy, the victory of Team India over Australia brought cheers to the face of billion Indians. Who would have thought that a team which is playing with its captain(Virat Kohli) out, main strike bowlers like Bumrah and Shami, Ashwin out, could go on to win at a place which was next to impossible for some of the best teams till that date. Infact the media had already given its verdict before the match by saying that it would be a walkover for Australia as they would be playing with India's B team almost. One thing which I have seen in my lifetime is the surprising ability of Team India. It is that "Dark Horses" that comes out when it is not be expected off. Whether it was the win over the mighty Western Indies in 1983, or the win in 2007 T20 WC, it always does the unexpected. And what they did
at Gabba, is another instance of this phenomenon.
When Australia scored 369 in the first innings and India was 186 for 6, the stunning show put up by Shardul Thakur and Washinghton Sundar brought India closer to the Australia's target and they ended their innings at 336 keeping their hope and fight alive. THE seconds innings heroic bowling from the youngsters like Siraj, Sundar etc ended the Aussies innings at 294. The target for India was 328 and the game was brought to the last day, the decided and the "D-Day". Some people might not acknowledge but the grit and heroic standing standing by Cheteswar Pujara who was hit by the Aussies strikers numerous times but still stood his ground making 56 by consuming 211, perhaps his slowest but also the most precious is the thing to remember. And then the Grecian performance shown by Rishabh Pant that made India crossed the victory line and him given righty as the "Man of the Match" will be the innings to remember for the generations to come.
The outstanding victory by Team India had finally made them the finalist to the World Cup test championship where they will shake hands with the Kiwis(New Zealand) keeping the excitement and the hope of the billion Indians at all time high.
Yes...indeed was one of the great victories....