Michael Vaughan has heaped praises on Team India for their heroics in the Australia tour of 2020-21.
The series wasn’t all sunshine for the Indian team, who were dismissed for a paltry score of 36 runs in the first Test at Adelaide. Talking about the same on Friday, Vaughan pointed out that the visitors weren’t taken seriously by their opponents after the first loss.
“It was a brilliant series to watch. The Aussies pummeling them at the Adelaide Oval – 36 all out. Then Virat going back home to be next to his wife giving birth. No one gave India a chance, I don’t care who you are,” Vaughan told Fox Cricket.
Reminiscing the Indian valour, the former England skipper asserted that the win in Melbourne was a memorable one as the Indian captain Virat Kohli had returned home for the birth of his first child. Vaughan lauded the stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane (112 & 27) who impressed everyone with wide arrays of shots and led his team to victory.
If the win in the second match wasn’t enough, India showed its resilience in the third one when Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin battled it out for a whole day in Sydney to convert a probable loss into a draw.
The Ashes winning captain shared that there is nothing more exciting than a last day contest in a Test for a draw.
“The way that they bounced back and Ajinkya Rahane’s captaincy was spectacular. And then to get to Sydney and the Aussies just pummel them for a few days. There’s nothing like a last day battling out for a draw,” the 46-year-old stated.
Vaughan also pointed out how Tim Paine & Co. had sledged Ashwin inciting the latter to beat the hosts at Gabba, where the Aussies hadn’t lost a Test match since 1988.
India did the improbable by turning the tables and beating Australia in their backyard, sealing the series 2-1.
“It’s a great spectacle when a team just trying to hang in there. A little bit of banter – Ashwin taking a little bit of talking from behind the stumps. And then the Aussies arriving at the Gabba thinking that’s all. They just can’t get beaten at the Gabba… they’ll steamroll them,” the Eccles-born added.
Vaughan also gave a special mention to Rishabh Pant, who proved his worth in unforeseen circumstances. The cricketer-turned-commentator also remarked how exalted Indian coach Ravi Shastri would have been after creating history.
“Throughout the whole tour, we knew Rishabh Pant was a player. We all know that he’s got something very special, but I thought particularly those last two Test matches, Pant came to light. It was a brilliant series. I can only imagine how much red wine Ravi Shastri must have had.”
