India defeated Australia by eight wickets in the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday to draw level at 1-1 in the four-match series.
Led by Ajinkya Rahane, the visitors put the shocking defeat in Adelaide behind them to notch-up a commanding win over Tim Paine and his men.
Watch: Ajinkya Rahane leads from the front as India beat Australia by 8 wickets in Melbourne Test
Talking to broadcasters Sony Ten after the win at the MCG, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said that the result was a testament of the Indian team’s character.
“This is a fantastic result for Indian cricket because it has shown a lot of character,” said Gavaskar.
“This team’s character of not giving up, this team’s character of sticking it, this team’s determination not to lay down and let the Aussies walk all over them. This performance makes all Indian cricket lovers very hopeful for the future.”
Gavaskar, who has traveled to Australia over decades now, first as a player and now as a commentator, has seen the team have its ups and downs and according to him, the latest victory at Melbourne is right up there with the very best.
“This win ranks very, very high for me,” he said. “India were bowled out for 36 in the previous game and to make a comeback from that kind of a situation is incredible. Because when things go against you on a tour, the dressing room gets very negative. It’s so easy for that to happen but it didn’t with this team.
“For example, if Australia had gotten off to a start of 80-90 for no loss on the first day of this Test, then all sorts of doubts would have started creeping into the Indian players’ minds. But that didn’t happen due to the Indian opening bowlers.”
The batting legend gave credit to captain Ajinkya Rahane and the team management, led by coach Ravi Shastri, for keeping the morale high after the bitter result at Adelaide.
“This win actually shows a new India.. an India who is always looking to be positive, an India who is wanting to battle again, and that is so, so heartening to see,” said Gavaskar.
The 71-year-old also praised fast bowler Mohammed Siraj, who impressed in his debut Test, filling in for the injured Mohammed Shami,c and finished with a match haul of five wickets.
“I was very, very impressed by Mohammed Siraj,” said Gavaskar. “He was at the batsmen all the time, he hardly gave them any room outside the off stump. He used the bouncer sparingly but intelligently. Even if he was hit for a boundary or things didn’t go his away, he didn’t lose heart. That was great to see.”