The 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy was one for the ages and no one can forget how an injury-hit India went on to defeat Australia in their own backyard against all odds. India had been bundled out for 36 in the Adelaide Test and many pundits had predicted a whitewash, especially after Virat Kohli returned home as he was expecting the birth of his child. However, it was under Ajinkya Rahane, that the team rallied around to defeat the then Tim Paine-led side in Melbourne and Brisbane.
Heading into the fourth Test, the four-match series was level at 1-1 and the decider was to be played at Gabba, where Australia had not lost for the longest time. However, thanks to Rishabh Pant’s heroics, India breached Australia’s fortress to win the series 2-1.
Pant played an unbeaten knock of 89 as India chased down 328.
Now, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed how then head coach Ravi Shastri was looking for a draw in the Gabba Test, but due to the efforts of Pant and Washington Sundar, a win was achieved.
“It is hard to understand his (Rishabh Pant) mind. He can do anything. He is one of those players who is incredibly blessed. He has so much ability that sometimes he thinks that he can hit every ball for a six. It is hard to keep him calm, Pujara tried to do that during the Sydney Test, but he missed out on a century there. But in this game, what had happened was, Ravi bhai told from the inside, I was sitting outside. He wanted a draw because there was a chance to draw the game but we were going for the win,” Ashwin said on Sports Yaari channel.
“Everyone had their own plan, I asked Ajinkya on the outside on what the plan is, are we going for a win? He told me that ‘Pant is playing and we will see what happens’. The moment Washi (Washington Sundar) went in and scored 20 quickly, our plan changed then. His 20-30 run contribution was very important,” he added.
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Ashwin had missed out on the Gabba Test after having back spasms. The off-spinner had led a rearguard action along with Hanuma Vihari in the previous Test in Sydney to help India walk away with a draw.
During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, many Indian players, including Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah had gotten injured and in the final Test, the likes of T Natarajan and Washington Sundar made their debut in the longest format.
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