Team India’s stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane had all the praises for the debutants Shubman Gill and Mohammad Siraj after their historic 8-wicket win over Australia in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday. India (326 & 70 for 2) bowled out Australia for 200 in their 2nd innings on Day 4 and then dominatingly chased down the meager score of 70 in 15.5 overs to register a win in the Boxing Day Test for the second time in a row.
Praising his team for showing the character in the Melbourne Test, Rahane said: “Really proud of all the players. Played really well. Want to give credit to the debutants (Mohammad) Siraj and (Shubman) Gill, the character they showed after the Adelaide loss was great to see.”
India’s win was even special as they managed to outclass Australia in all three departments despite missing the services of Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, and Umesh Yadav (who bowled just 3.3 overs in the second innings before leaving the field due to a calf injury during the 2nd innings of the MCG Test).
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Talking about the character shown by the team Ajinkya Rahane said, “Character was important for us, especially after losing Umesh in the second innings. That (five-bowler plan) worked well for us nicely. We were thinking of having an all-rounder and Jadeja has been brilliant for us.”
He further added, “Shubman, we all know his First-class career and in this game, he has shown the intent to play shots at this level. Has shown composure. Siraj has shown that he can bowl with discipline. It’s really difficult for debutants to bowl with discipline but that’s where I think the First-class experience comes in handy.”
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During the post-match presentation, Rahane added, “The talk (after the Adelaide Test loss) was all about showing the attitude and intent on the field. As I said, character. Adelaide was about one hour that took the game away from us. Lots to learn for even now.”
