Brisbane 2021 - A Testament to the New Age India

 To think that the last ever blog I wrote was half a decade back, can be attributed to the fact that I hadn't witnessed anything as significant as what transpired yesterday. A heist, if you may want to call. For millions across India and around the world, a simple fightback by the Indian men's cricket team would have been enough for this match to have been regarded as a folklore. The only natural intervention that was sought desperately was torrid rain. That the nature chose to shine brightly upon the Indian team was in many ways a salute to the spirit of indomitable bunch of cricketers this country has produced in recent times.

The generation of cricket fans who have followed the Indian team over the last three decades have withered the heartbreaks of Kolkata (WC Semi Final 1996), Barbados (1997), Chennai (1999), Jo' burg ( WC Final2003) Adelaide (2014), Oval, London ( CT Final vs Pak, 2017), Edgbaston (2018), Centurion (2018), Manchester (WC Semi-Final 2019). The scars run so deep and memories have haunted for so long, that sporadic but significant milestones over the last twenty years have not been enough to erase the agony of these defeats. But it was to change on 19th January 2021. For a year, that's followed a pandemic marred 2020, this match was just the perfect dose of cure required  for the fans of the game.

No format of any sport, and yes, absolutely no sport, comes even remotely close to replicate what life is all about than Test Cricket. When played at its best, by the very best, it boasts of the most perfect ebbs and flows and can take you through every emotion you can witness in your life. It throws punches and way too relentlessly, expecting the players to surrender with their backs against a wall. Yet somehow all it takes, is one person to muster its strength and lead a fightback, in the process giving hope to those around them, that it's all about crossing one hurdle at a time. 

Talking of hurdles, this series personified the word. Just like it did courage, resilience, brilliance and resurgence. In years to come, people will talk about how a bunch of new age cricketers, barely in their twenty's, bereft of any baggage of close defeats, chose to lay the foundation of a brand of cricket India would be expected to follow from here on. Shubhman Gill and Rishabh Pant - their names will echo whenever the ballads of this series would be sung. The scores of 91 and 89 shall probably be regarded in a greater esteem than most of the centuries ever scored. They for sure have turned a new corner as far as the new age India is concerned.

It all started when the Indian team hit the rock bottom at Adelaide. They had just crumbled for a paltry score of 36, had lost their premium fast bowler to a wrist injury, the captain and best batsman was supposed to return to India on paternity leave - a decision which had more people debating on than some of the bills passed in the assembly in recent times. As they say that in adversity lies opportunity, the stand-in skipper donned the hat of a true leader. Ajinkya Rahane was in-charge of the orchestra. He conducted to perfection and the rest followed his tune.

Ajinkya Rahane's batting had always incited mixed reviews from different corners - it ranges from "Must Have" to "Throw him out". The lack of confidence shown in him by the management at different stages of his career often resulted in loss of batting form. About his captaincy skills, the sample size was too small to judge his leadership abilities. For someone who has always had a contribution in any away from home victory for India, his performances have often gone unnoticed. 

However, it can now be safely concluded that all the discussions around his capabilities and abilities, both with the bat and at the helm, have been put to rest for a long time. His century at Melbourne was the most perfect example of leading from the front. What followed was his exemplary handling of resources, that were depleting faster than the ozone layer (exaggerating but not at all apologetic). No amount of injuries to his players seemed to bother him and just the right people were deployed to fill the shoes of those who were nursing themselves. At a time when his own position was being questioned, he responded silently by letting his skills do the talking.

Cheteshwar Pujara - like it has been said a multiple times over the last 24 hours - battered and bruised and yet he marched on. Facing some of the most hostile bowling by the top bowlers of the world, he got hit on everything from head to ribs to fingers and yet did not flinch for once. For about two hours, it was like an Anatomy class where bowlers were pointing to the part by hitting it with the ball. But the steely grit in his eyes and resolve in his demeanor was enough to deflate the puffed up chests of the highly regarded bowling line up. Match after match, innings after innings, you switch on the TV and he was there, you switch it off and he was there. Holding one end of the pitch, he anchored this chase, this series. Criticized by many for his snail paced scoring in recent times, he showed yesterday how he was the pivot around which the miracle of Brisbane blossomed. 

No words of praise are enough for the newcomers in this series - Mohd Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, T. Natarajan - they were thrown among the wolves and yet emerged unscathed, such was their control and hold over the game and their opponents. Not for once did they look that they did not belong at that stage. Australia with its full strength team could not overpower the determination shown by this new bunch. The beauty of this series and this game in particular is that one can go on and on about the tales of bravado that were on display for the last one month. Like a candle in the strong wind, they flickered but never extinguished. The Vihari-Ashwin partnership was one such show of resistance.

Twenty years back we witnessed Kolkata 2001, a test match which became the epitome of Indian fightback. It's been a chapter for far too long for players to refer to whenever India was in trouble. Adelaide 2003 was a sub-section in that chapter if more convincing was needed. India's this tour of Australia is a book in itself. Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney - each worthy of a chapter in itself and it finally culminates at Brisbane 2021. A match India had no business to win. They had already shown enough courage to win the hearts of their fans. They had surpassed expectations but still went for the final draw. Six years back at Adelaide, led remarkably by Virat Kohli, India fell short by thirty odd runs while going for the improbable. This time around, no glitches were to happen along the way. Players kept falling, new ones kept rising. No other victory by the Indian team in recent years will be recalled in the same breath as Brisbane 2021. 'Gabbatoir' as it's called, Australian team's fortress. Well, the fortress has been breached. And how. 

I may have been a passionate cricket fan for many years now but do not recall in recent times getting overjoyed or dejected at the end of a match. Yet yesterday got a lump in my throat, such was the magnitude of this victory. Against all the odds and expectations, the defiance shown by the Indian team shall be marveled for eons. And unlike Marvel heroes, the stunts were performed on the green field rather than in front of a green screen. So spare me the ignominy if I mention that I have never watched any Avengers movie. Nothing can amuse you more than action being performed in the real world. 

Thanks a lot Indian Cricket Team for this!!