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India Coach Ravi shastri hailed his team’s eight-field victory over Australia on Tuesday as one of the greatest comebacks of all time, praising his character after a landslide defeat in the first round last week.
Despite losing superstar Virat Kohli, the Indians outscored the hosts in Melbourne to silence their critics after being fired for 36 in Adelaide en route to an eight-wicket loss.
“I think this will go down in the annals of Indian cricket, world cricket, as one of the great comebacks in the history of the game,” Shastri said after they tied the series 1-1.
“Turning around for 36, then three days later to get up and get ready to hit was exceptional.
“I think guys deserve all the credit for showing real character.”
India’s victory built on a century of backup captain Ajinkya Rahane’s first inning on his way to 326 in response to Australia’s 195, with young rookie Shubman Gill also excelling with the bat.
But his bowling attack, minus Umesh Yadav, who retired injured Monday, also delivered, with an outstanding performance from Mohammed Siraj, another on debut.
Shastri said that both Siraj and Gill had great futures ahead of them.
“These two rookies showed maturity, style and discipline and it was great to see them,” he said.
“Today Siraj, his effort was outstanding. He may not have the numbers to show it, but the discipline and ability to shoot long periods was outstanding.
“More than anything, they have shown great character.”
Kohli, who was watching at his home in India before his wife gave birth to their first child, was equally impressed by what he saw.
“What a victory this is, an absolutely amazing effort from the entire team,” he tweeted.
“We couldn’t be happier for the guys and especially Jinks (Rahane), who led the team to victory in an amazing way.”
Shastri paid particular tribute to Rahane, who, in contrast to Kohli, is a less flamboyant but equally effective captain.
“He is a very astute leader, he has a good knowledge of the game, he is a good reader of the game,” he said.
“And I thought his quiet composure in the middle helped the debutants and I think it helped the bowlers as well. It was a calming influence.”
Despite winning, India heads to Test 3 next week with selection dilemmas.
Shastri said they were monitoring Yadav but would stick with their five-pin strategy, having included the all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for Melbourne.
They also have key hitter Rohit Sharma out of mandatory quarantine and ready to join the team after recovering from a hamstring injury.
“We will limit ourselves to five bowlers,” Shastri said.
“At Rohit, he joins the team tomorrow, so we will chat with him to see where he is physically located, because he has been in quarantine for the last few weeks.
“We also need to see how you feel before making the decision.”
