India Rock Aussies at GABBA

Call it the Dream 11 or call it a makeshift 11 which did duty like soldiers guarding the frontiers. On Tuesday, at the historic Gabba in Brisbane, India whacked the cocky Aussies by three wickets to win the fourth Test and a historic series 2-1.

By winning the Gavaskar-Border trophy against all odds, Team India, led by Ajinkya Rahane showed what mattered was playing from the heart and playing with positivity.

In a series rocked by controversies where the Ugly Aussies played dirty tricks, led by skipper Tim Payne, India showed they were ready for the final day assault in the most audacious manner. To say there were heart-stopping moments would be an understatement.

There was pressure, there was pain and there was pride to play for. If Cheteshwar Pujara took body blows in the morning and showed he was going to go down like the soldier pumping in his last bullet, then there was the man so many love to hate. Yes, Rishabh Pant, the rock star of Indian cricket, took the fight into the Aussie fortress at the Gabba with strokeplay which was bold and daring.

Pant has the heart of a boxer, though much shorter in height. He may look baby-faced and a but chubby as well. Yet, when he bats, left-handed, he is a terror for the rival batsmen. He showed the willingness to take risks when he was promoted up the batting order. His poise and pluck made for great viewing for the purists as well even though for patient of hypertension or those dealing with heart conditions this was too taxing.

As Pant and Navdeep Saini took India to victory, there were tears of joy all around. This was like winning a war minus shooting and winning a battle with such low ammunition. Players kept getting injured, yet the fight continued, and India won this Test with four bowlers!

All this was made possible because of stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane and coach Ravi Shastri placing faith in the boys. Newcomers made debuts in this Test series as if it was like winning a lottery. The new boys like Shardul Thakur, Mohd Siraj, Washington Sundar and not to forget T.Natarajan played like seasoned pros and not newcomers. This was the new Team India, a bunch which kept chanting one mantra: Self-belief.

They said Test cricket was boring. Oh, how wrong we were proved, again. The heroes of this series were many and each difficult situation and adversity brought out a new warrior shining. This was Team India playing for the pride of the nation, dil se.

There were Indians settled in Brisbane who had brought the tricolour. It fluttered at the end as the boys and men did the lovely victory lap.

Gabbatoir was this? Yes, this time the Aussies  were slaughtered and not India. This win brings not just joy but a whole sense of wellness. Forget your own pain, your own losses, your own sadness because of Covid-19.

This India Dream 11 has made every Indian happy, at home and abroad like never before. Mind you, some are still calling it the B Team. And yes, our original captain Virat Kohli is at home on paternity leave!