From ignominy to triumph: Rise of a captain extraordinaire

The triumph of Melbourne should bury the ignominy of Adelaide. It must have been tough for fans of Indian cricket to counter the jibes following the humiliation of being bowled out for 36. It was bizarre and it was obviously unthinkable, given the fabulous batting line up that Virat Kohli commanded.

The debacle hurt, and it really hurt the team to an extent that they just worked with one aim – to hit back hard at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was a venue that had been kind to the Indians on their previous visits to Australia and it was no different this time too. A thumping victory meant that parity was restored and India could look at the remaining Tests with some sense of confidence.

It can never be easy to come back from a situation that one saw at the end of the Adelaide Test. Some former cricketers made snide remarks about India’s capabilities to make it a competitive series. Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Brad Haddin and former England captain Michael Vaughan dismissed India after the crushing defeat at Adelaide. “Told ya…India are going to get hammered in the Test series… #AusvInd# 4-0,” was Vaughan’s view. Even Waugh had a “4-0” result in Australia’s favour. They must have been shocked at the turn around.

Ravi Shastri described the MCG show as one of India’s finest. “I think this will go down in the annals of Indian cricket - no, world cricket - as one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the game. You know to be rolled over for 36 and then three days later to get up and be ready to punch was outstanding. The boys deserve all the credit for the character they have shown. Real character.”

The team was not as bad as the 36 all out collapse suggested. But Ajinkya Rahane was handed a team that was low on morale. It was the greatest challenge of his career as he walked out for the toss. Losing the toss was not the best start for Rahane was replacing Kohli as the captain. The team was without Mohammad Shami and lost the experienced Umesh Yadav in the second innings to an injury after he had bowled just 3.3 overs.

The team had debutants in Shubman Gill, for Prithvi Shaw, and Mohammed Siraj for Shami. The experienced Wriddhiman Saha made way for Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja came in as a batting all-rounder in place of Kohli. Four changes in the playing XI were going to test the character of the team. It was not surprising that Indian cricket found a winning combination at the MCG.

“We had a lot of positives in Adelaide but at the end of the day it is the result that counts. We were blown away in the second innings in one hour. So when you are blown away, you are blown away,” said Shastri at the end of the recovery at MCG. He had to thank Rahane and the likes of Jadeja and Siraj, not to forget the wily off-spinner R. Ashwin, for the resilience at MCG.

Rahane earned praise for his leadership. His composure in testing situations was an innate quality built over years of patience. It was remarkable that Rahane stepped into his new role with such ease. He has never looked flustered on the field but his exceptional calmness at MCG was a confirmation that he was well prepared for the assignment. “A bowler’s captain” was how Ishant Sharma had described Rahane and the Mumbaikar proved it with his firm control over the team.

The faith that Rahane had in his bowler comes from his nod to the field they would ask for. In Ashwin’s case, the leg-side trap, and the bowler coming into the attack within the first hour of play, was a throwback to the era when spinners led the attack. “I liked the line of attack that Ashwin pursued,” remarked spin great Bishan Singh Bedi.

Kapil Dev had praise for Siraj. “For a debutant he was exceptional. He can be lethal when the conditions suit him but I was impressed with the fact that he knew his limitations and bowled well within them. Jadeja’s contribution as a batsman lent the balance to the team and the icing on the cake was Rahane with his captaincy and batting. His knock was so crucial in the victory.”

Shastri also analysed Rahane’s role aptly. “He is a very shrewd leader, has a good understanding of the game. I thought his calm composure out there helped the debutants as well, helped the bowlers as well. There was a calming influence. In spite of losing Umesh (Yadav), he did a great job.”

Rahane indeed did a splendid job and reconfirmed the fact that India does not lose a Test when he scores a century. He has 12 Test centuries along with Gundappa Viswanath’s 14 and Sourav Ganguly’s 16. India never lost the Test in which Viswanath and Ganguly hit a century.

Adelaide was an aberration. “Once in fifty years,” was former India all-rounder Madan Lal’s comment on the collapse in the first Test. He should know since he was part of the team which was bowled out for 42 by England at Lord’s in 1974. The Lord’s episode was remembered in the media as India hit a new low.

Having started 2020 with two Test defeats in New Zealand, it was good to see India sign off on the dreadful year on a high with the win at Melbourne. Can they repeat the feats at Sydney and Brisbane? Indian fans look forward to such gifts from their heroes.

Mr Vijay Lokapally has been a sports journalist for four decades. He writes for The Hindu and Sportstar.

By Vijay Lokapally