Xtra Time Web Desk: India’s stand in captain Ajinkya Rahane has hailed the draw against Australia in the third test match at Sydney Cricket Ground equivalent to a win. The Indian players were battered and bruised both on and off the field but never let their shoulders drop against the fearsome Australian fast bowlers. The Indian team under Ajinkya Rahane has bounced back in style winning the test match at Melbourne and now drawing this test at Sydney, after the embarrassing loss at Adeaide.
The Sydney Test of the 2020-21 series will forever be remembered as one of the greatest efforts on Day 5 of a visiting team in a Test match in Australia. Rahane has specially credited Ravichandran Ashwin (39* off 128) and Hanuma Vihari for batting 42.4 overs against a ‘world-class bowling attack’ and saving the Test match for India.
“This is as good as winning a Test match, when you come abroad and play a match like this, it was really special. Credit to Ashwin and Vihari for the way they batted, Pujara, Rohit, Pant everyone chipped into the team’s cause. But credit to Vihari and Ashwin for batting 2.5 hours in the end,” said Rahane in a virtual post-match press conference.
“We knew we had to take it one session at a time, we were not thinking about our target. Pujara and Pant batted well for us, but once they got out, unfortunately, Vihari had the injury and because of that, he had to play with a certain approach. Credit to all the guys for the way we played and this feels as good as a win,” he added.
Despite all the criticism of Vihari’s slow knock (he scored just 6 runs off the 100 balls) on social media, his 161-ball 23* was instrumental in the draw. Skipper Rahane credited Vihari and hailed it as a ‘special knock’.
“See, Vihari was batting really well in the last three Tests. He was not able to get a big score but today we all saw his special knock. I think his knock was more special than his 100, the way he batted after being injured, he showed motivation and he hung in there for the team. It was really good, it was all about what the team wanted and credit to him for the way he handled himself. It was really special to see how he managed his injury,” Rahane added.
“Australia has a world-class bowling attack, all three fast bowlers are great. It was all about playing an entire attack and not against an individual, it was all about showing the character till the end, I am really proud of the guys. We all were disappointed after the Adelaide Test, but the atmosphere was good, everyone was backing each other and everyone was trying to help each other out,” he credited the team effort in tackling the Australian bowlers.
Both India and Australia will travel to Brisbane on Tuesday for the 4th Test match, starting on January 15, at the Gabba.