Former Pakistan pacer, Shoaib Akhtar asserted that the India team has the capability of winning the ongoing Test series against Australia in Australia. The legendary fast bowler said Ajinkya Rahane and his men showed some ‘courage and character’ to bounce back from the defeat in Adelaide to level the series with a memorable victory in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Shoaib Akhtar showered praises on the stand-in skipper, Ajinkya Rahane, and the team management, saying it takes a lot of character to bounce back from a defeat like the one India suffered in the first Test. The visitors, under Virat Kohli, weren’t able to recover from the blow as Australia gunned down a 90-run target with ease to go 1-0 up.
During a recent chat with Boria Majumdar on Sports Today, Shoaib Akhtar said he wasn’t able to believe his own eyes when he saw the scorecard showing 36 for 9. India missed the services of Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, and Rohit Sharma still managed to win the second Test by 8 wickets.
ALSO READ: Team India Celebrated New Year 2021 Amidst Practice In Melbourne
Elaborating about the same, Shoaib Akhtar said, “I was telling a few friends in Delhi that India is going to beat the hell out of Australia. I told them that if the batting performs, if the middle order performs, then India has a fair amount of chance to win this series. They said I was hyping up a bit too much. I watched the game, one fine morning, I woke up and I saw India were getting hammered by Australia. I thought it was 369 and not 36 for 9.”
He further added, “But you know, characters are exhibited in crisis. Ajinkya Rahane doesn’t shout or do nasty things on the field, he just stays quiet and does his thing which is the cool captaincy. Whatever you say about Ravi Shastri, Ajinkya Rahane and the team, India’s strength is not people who are playing on the field, it’s the bench strength. They seized the opportunity and went out there and performed.”
ALSO READ: Suresh Raina Expecting Magic Spells From Sreesanth In SMAT
Elaborating about India’s chances in the remaining games, “Getting hammered in one Test and then coming back and winning the next Test comprehensively shows the character of the team and the management. Characters like Bumrah, Rahane, Gill Jadeja is playing a crucial role. You somehow put him in any situation and he is going to go out there and perform for you. I want India to win the series because they have made a great comeback.”
Ajinkya Rahane led from the front and smashed a match-winning century. Rahane was tactically brilliant as well as he marshaled his bowling attack to perfection and made some unorthodox field settings to put pressure on Australia. India will be hoping to take an unbeatable series lead and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy when they will be locking horns with the hosts in the 3rd Test in Sydney from January 7.
