AUS vs IND: Ravi Shastri praised the Indian team for their character and resilience.© Twitter
Several heroes stood out for India as they beat Australia at their Brisbane fortress on Tuesday to win the Test series 2-1. It was the first time Australia have lost at the Gabba since 1988. India’s head coach Ravi Shastri delivered a rousing speech in the dressing room after the famous victory, earmarking some of the key performers from the Gabba Test and the series in general. Shastri hailed the team for the resilience and spirit they showed to come back from the Adelaide debacle and win the series to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
He then lavished praise on Shubman Gill for his fluent 91. He hailed Cheteshwar Pujara — who copped several blows to the body for his 211-ball 56 in India’s second innings — as “the ultimate warrior”.
He told Rishabh Pant that he was “simply outstanding”, despite having given some heart attacks while batting.
Watch Shastri’s speech in the dressing room here:
WATCH – Exclusive: Head Coach @RaviShastriOfc delivers a dressing room speech at Gabba.
A special series win in Australia calls for a special speech from the Head Coach. Do not miss!
Full https://t.co/kSk2mbp309 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/Ga5AaMvkim
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 19, 2021
Pant played a measured knock and stayed unbeaten at 89, but as India had to up the tempo towards the end of the chase, there were a few occasions where it looked like the left-hander was going to get out.
But Pant managed to stay at the crease till the end and hit the winning runs for the visitors.
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Shastri also praised debutants Washington Sundar and T Natarajan, as well as Shardul Thakur, saying that Thakur and Sundar’s 123-run partnership in India’s first essay was what “broke Australia’s back”.
India have now won two back-to-back Test series in Australia. The series win also saw India jolt to the top of the ICC World Test Championship table.
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