Lambs slaughter Goliaths at the Gabbatoir

In a sheer defiance of the three plus decades of impregnable Brisbane history spelt G-A-B-B-A the raw ‘B – Team’ considered by many, including diehard optimists, did the impossible! The boys determinedly demolished the Oz Goliaths by three wickets on the final day of what will go down in glittering history of the Gentlemen’s Game as an example of sheer courage and grit to do the impossible of making the mighty Aussies eat grass at the Gabba pasture. Apart from stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane, the new ‘wall’ of Indian cricket Cheteshwar Pujara and of course Rohit Sharma, the other eight members of a new Team India were raw forces to reckon with. They channelized their intents in a common pool of determination and dedication to create history and retain the Border – Gavaskar Trophy on the shelves of BCCI Pride.

The Indian team’s Head Coach Ravi Shastri was right in saying that the indomitable spirit of self belief was injected into the team by skipper Virat Kohli and that reflected in the following three test matches where it won the second test, drew the third with the grit and tenacity of the painfully injured Hanuma Vihari and Ashwin and emerged victorious in the fourth and deciding test to move to the top of the ICC Test Rankings. It will be naïve to single out the hero of the series or the match as all did more than their bit. Rishabh Pant with his confident and electrifying batting, ever reliable sheet anchor Cheteshwar Pujara around whose impregnable innings the other ‘Bachchas’ scored the runs including the new star in the opening slot horizon Shubman Gill and the accurate bowling of the lion hearted Md Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sunder and T Natarajan and the cool, astute leadership of Ajinkya Rahane went in to compose the lyrical sweetness of a sensational victory.

Turning back a few pages of Indian cricket’s history, it would be easily noted that former skipper and current BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly initiated the spirit of determination and confidence as he nurtured the inexperienced with the battle scarred veterans to lay the foundation for a power bank that has set the tradition in glory. Virat has continued that legacy and what a job he and Ajinkya have done!

The support staff has performed more than a good job by being there with the boys sharing their joys and pains and keeping the morale in the bio-bubble camp high. Broken bones and pulled muscles could not deter the Indian attitude and the injured brave boys were out there, forgetting their pains to congratulate the 11 Heroes and sip the nectar of victory from the Border-Gavaskar Cup of Glory.

The boys have every right to enjoy their freedom of victory prior to taking on England in the home series. After all, they are the KINGS of cricket.