It was January 17, 2021, when the young Indian all-rounders, Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur made a match-winning partnership of 123 runs off 217 balls to set up India’s comeback against Australia on Day 4 of the fourth Test at the Gabba. This was India’s highest 7th wicket partnership at Gabba and the third highest in Australia’s history and it came as India fought with their backs to the wall in their pursuit of Australia’s first innings total on Day 3 in the Brisbane Test.

Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur pair started the partnership when the team was reeling at 186/6 in the second session, and Australia was clearly on top, eyeing a huge lead. Thakur and Sundar, on the other hand, had other plans, with the latter making his Test debut with a six off Pat Cummins and a crisp drive through mid-on in the same over. Both of them managed to tackle the Australian bowlers pretty well and kept on churning out some crucial runs.

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The Australian bowlers were clueless about the opposition and were visibly frustrated with the way both teams batted. Shardul was the aggressor in the final session when he smashed Mitchell Starc for a six and another one off Nathan Lyon to reach fifty. Meanwhile, Sundar wowed everyone with his outstanding performance.

The Australian bowlers were flustered and started leaking runs as a result. The 123-run partnership was eventually broken by none other than Pat Cummins, who dismissed Thakur after scoring 67 runs. Sundar, on the other hand, scored 62 runs on debut before being dismissed.

For a while, the tail waggled as well, with Mohammed Siraj entertaining the crowd with his batting before India was bowled out for 336 runs.

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Earlier in the day, the overnight duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane looked promising, and they even got lucky on a couple of occasions. But it was Pujara who got a snorter from Hazlewood, who ended up with a five-wicket haul, while Rahane threw away his wicket late in the first session with a loose shot.