• Shardul and Sundar formed record partnership to strengthen India in the Gabba Test.

  • India posted 336 in reply of Australia's 369 runs.

Twitter reactions: Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar set record partnership for India at The Gabba
Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur (Image Source: Twitter)

Table of Contents

Fightback, grit, courage and extreme patience have been the story of Indian cricket team ever since they faced the embarrassing loss in the Adelaide Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

Another display of solid performance was seen in the ongoing fourth Test at The Gabba in Brisbane. The Indian lower order showed bravery after they lost their first 6 wickets for 186.

Debutant Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur, who is playing his 2nd Test match, teamed up to get India to go past 300.

In the process, the duo put up a record partnership of 123 runs. When the stand touched 59 runs, it was already the highest 7th wicket partnership for an Indian pair at the Gabba. By doing that, they broke the 30-year-old record that was held by Kapil Dev and Manoj Prabhakar in 1991.

The last time India played at this venue, was during India’s 2014-15 tour of Australia when MS Dhoni and Ravichandran Ashwin had stitched a partnership of 57 runs in the 1st innings.

Highest 7th wicket partnership for India (vs Australia) at the Gabba:

  • 123 – Washington Sundar – Shardul Thakur (2021)
  • 58 – Kapil Dev – Manoj Prabhakar (1991)
  • 57 – MS Dhoni – Ravichandran Ashwin (2014)
  • 49 – Manoj Prabhakar – Ravi Shastri (1991)
  • 44 – M.L. Jaisimha – Bapu Nadkarni (1968)

Shardul and Sundar both scored the half-centuries and took the partnership to 123 runs, in the 3rd session of Day 3, before Pat Cummins made a breakthrough for the home team by cleaning up Shardul for a well-made 67. On the other hand, Sundar scored 62, and it was the highest score by a debutant at Number 7 in Australia.

The last time India’s numbers 7 and 8 scored half-centuries in same innings during an away game, was at Manchester in 1982, when Sandeep Patil had scored an unbeaten 129 while Kapil Dev made 65.

Sundar also became the second Indian player to hit a half-century on debut and take three wickets after Dattu Phadkar (51 & 3/14 vs Aus, SCG, 1947/48).

100+ partnership for 7th wicket for India in Australia:

  • 204 – R Pant – R Jadeja at Sydney (2018/19)
  • 132 – V Hazare – H Adhikari at Adelaide (1947/48)
  • 123 – W Sundar – S Thakur at Brisbane (2020/21)*

Here is how Twitter reacted:

In the end, India were bundled out on 336. For the hosts, Josh Hazlewood picked up five wickets for 57 runs while Mitchell Starc and Cummins bagged two scalps each. Nathan Lyon earned one wicket.

In reply, Australia have managed to score 21 without a loss, leading India by 54 runs.

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AKSHAT GAUR
Akshat is the Sr. Content Strategist at CricketTimes.com. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for detail, Akshat has honed his skills over 6 years, working with various media outlets, publications, and organizations to deliver high-quality content that informs, educates, and entertains audiences. He is just another cricket fan who’s grown up watching the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. Cricket runs in his veins. Cover drive is his favorite sight, and a ball meeting the middle of the bat is his favorite sound. You can write to him at akshat.gaur@crickettimes.com and follow him on Twitter, Facebook & Linkedin.