Podcast: Stars Are Born as India Seal Their Greatest Test Series Victory

[00:00:00] You're listening to the Quintz Podcast.

[00:00:09] When they say anything is possible, this Indian cricket team needs to be on a poster with

[00:00:13] that slogan because even without their captain, without their first or second choice bowling

[00:00:17] attack and with many players making their debut in the last month India have beaten Australia

[00:00:23] at Fortress Gava, the first team to do so in 32 years history has been made.

[00:00:29] My guess Ayaz Memon, Is it that Ayaz historic is the only word that comes to mind?

[00:00:34] Is one tries to find a world to describe this Indian team's efforts in Australia?

[00:00:39] Well, historic is certainly one word which comes to mind but in my mind there are others

[00:00:44] which have been swirling around Mendra, incredible extraordinary astounding amazing.

[00:00:49] I mean, it's quite unbelievable isn't it?

[00:00:52] This is out of replace believe it or not that India would save the third test match and

[00:00:57] then go on to win the fourth test match on the last day in the bastion as you mentioned.

[00:01:03] The Gava has been Australia's bastion, they haven't lost here in 32 years and then you

[00:01:08] have this almost a rag and bobtail team.

[00:01:12] You know the six or seven key players those would have been first choice to play in the

[00:01:16] test missing from the Indian team and yet and yet India going to win this match chasing

[00:01:21] 328 in the fourth innings.

[00:01:24] This is not an easy task irrespective of the fact that the Gava pitch didn't crumble

[00:01:30] it played through till the end but imagine the pressure and I think that when you look back

[00:01:35] on this match you'll find that it's not just what happened on the last day of course

[00:01:39] that was kind of just superb the way they chased down you know the time the chase punk

[00:01:48] Gil first and Pansilator and of course the bridge being the Buddha of Indian cricket or

[00:01:55] World cricket that is Cheshire Puja Ra but also look at what happened earlier in the match

[00:02:00] you know the partnership between Washington Sundar and Charitable Thakur which brought India

[00:02:05] so close to Australia's first innings score and then the bowling of Mohamad Saraj and Thakur

[00:02:11] again on the fourth day which actually gave India the opportunity to chase down 328 you

[00:02:17] know the lead was 353 360 this would have been not possible so so many heroes in this victory

[00:02:24] but at the end of the day the greatest and the proudest moment for team India for Indian fans

[00:02:30] I think it's really the greatest ever victory I can think of in India's cricket history.

[00:02:36] I'm Manrathodji and I'm Ayaz Meeman and you're listening to the Aussie Challenge

[00:02:41] podcast on the quint powered by Palm Easy and Medi Buddy.

[00:02:47] Okay I'll take you quickly to the score before I go back to Ayaz with my questions India started

[00:02:51] on 4 for none needing 3 24 runs today to win the match Ruhi Sharma fell early and then followed

[00:02:57] a mammoth 114 run partnership between Cheshire Puja Ra and Shobman Gil Puja Ra took many

[00:03:02] body blows from the Aussie Paces but continued on Gil made 91 Puja Ra eventually got out on 56

[00:03:09] but the man of the day was Rishabh Panthizan beaten 89 took this match from a possible Aussie win

[00:03:15] to a possible rot to have confirmed Indian victory Australia beat net Gabba after 32 years and it

[00:03:21] took this battered and bruised team of Indian fighters to end that run. Ayaz we have to start by

[00:03:27] talking about Rishabh Panth what a redemption for him I mean had the most horrid time at the start

[00:03:32] of the series was replaced for a game as well but comes out in place you know two massive match

[00:03:37] winning knocks for India yes I think this is this is a series that will be remembered for Rishabh Panth's

[00:03:42] contribution and of course his redemption as you mentioned because he was on the verge of being

[00:03:47] ousted I mean not finding a regular place in the test squad is one thing and then being out of

[00:03:51] the test squad itself would have been a big blow I think it was good of the team selection or the

[00:03:57] team management to have persisted with him knowing or identifying and supporting his match winning

[00:04:02] ability I think that's what really kind of clinched the issue in his favor as India's favor

[00:04:07] I think there was this feeling at the back of the mind of the Indian team management and I can say

[00:04:12] this with some authority because I spoke to Shastri before the team went to Australia in fact for

[00:04:17] quite a number of times and you know one of the things that he kept emphasizing on was we must have

[00:04:22] a counter punch ready if there's no counter punch they'll you know they'll kind of roll over us

[00:04:27] the all these now the counter punch had to come either from the top like Rohit Sharma he was missing

[00:04:34] the first test first two tests Virat Kohli who went back or somebody else you know and the

[00:04:40] Keshav Pujala is not that kind of a player he's got other and magnificent virtues Rahane was not

[00:04:47] in the best of form going into the series and therefore they had to look at somebody like a

[00:04:52] Lisha Panth to keep that counter punch ready when the need arose and that came in the in the previous

[00:04:59] test which was then saved by Ashwin and Anumavihari and in this test which was won by Panth even

[00:05:06] there he had laid the platform for what would have been another outstanding Indian when it didn't

[00:05:12] happen but that match was saved and that was crucial from the series this point of view and this

[00:05:17] is just you know I keep saying remember these two names Gail and Panth underlined their names

[00:05:24] and remember that you know in 10 15 years we'll be seeing a lot of my restones a lot of match winning

[00:05:29] records you know attached to the names yeah you talked about you know Ashwin Gail Risha Panth being

[00:05:35] special players but that's what's also very special about this series win right traditionally we've

[00:05:40] been you know a team that has match winners who you know we depend on heavily to win us matches

[00:05:45] but this time round we've just had almost every player you know put put the hand up step up and you

[00:05:50] know put up a big innings take a fight for do something extremely special and that's you know

[00:05:55] that's it's been a complete team effort as far as you know the series victory was I think you've

[00:06:00] really that's hitting the nail on the head I think it's a team effort and this is used as a

[00:06:05] cliche you know that you know this is a team effort but when he look at what's transpired in the series

[00:06:10] that one freak hour at Adelaide I think you know our India could conceivably have won the series

[00:06:17] maybe two one or three or three one you know instead of two one we don't know so it's been one of

[00:06:23] those kind of series but every time India faced a crisis you know there was somebody there to

[00:06:31] perform raise the bar for himself for the team perform excellently whether in batting or bowling

[00:06:37] and I think that came through in the fact that the Indian team managed to find a player for every occasion

[00:06:42] whether it was in batting or bowling in fact you know I have this my one one line or a very brief

[00:06:49] summary of the series is India outplayed Australia in everything batting and bowling in great

[00:06:54] determination in fair in ambition in attrition in the will to win the will to survive and the will

[00:07:02] to win the only area which both the team were equal were in dropping catches right after

[00:07:09] Rahane spoke after you know winning the series and before he took the trophy you know he said that

[00:07:15] Indian team wanted to give Nathan Lion a sign jersey so he called Nathan Lion on gave him a jersey

[00:07:20] for his hundred test match I mean that's that's his feet gesture to make right I mean I know Virat

[00:07:24] said that his aggression is the new India but you take this as well right I mean this is the team

[00:07:29] that's in your face when needed they'll take the body blows when needed they'll keep quiet when

[00:07:33] you know certain team pains ledges you but you know and the complete gentleman when needed but then

[00:07:38] again when when you need to be winning matches they they speak with their performance no I think

[00:07:44] these are niceties of cricket which are always good to watch I think this is you know once the

[00:07:47] heat and dust is settled the battle is over then you are still you know fellow cricketers it's part

[00:07:52] of the same fraternity maybe also very good friends so I think that's it's a great gesture

[00:07:58] but this is something which is now happening more and more on the cricket field as we see you know

[00:08:02] rare are those cases where it just gets so bitter that you know I think it just gets

[00:08:08] well it's a slanging match spills over into the outside but otherwise it's you know this is

[00:08:12] becoming a practice and remember that there's also you know match referee is the ICC putting

[00:08:18] putting an eye on nothing untoward happening but you're right that you know it was very thoughtful

[00:08:24] of the Indian team to salute a player who's playing his 100 test match who's not being so successful

[00:08:29] in this series in fact one of the many reasons that Australia have not been able to win this series

[00:08:34] because nature lion hasn't delivered with the ball okay I asked we must talk about Chita

[00:08:39] should Pujara next he says such criticism during this series such immense criticism during this

[00:08:44] series wasting deliveries he said quote unquote chod didn't show enough intent was what you know

[00:08:50] people said about him but that's what India needed from him right to hold on to hold one

[00:08:55] one side of the crew so Australia pretty much knew they were just going to get wicked from the other

[00:08:59] end because Chita should Pujara had shut shop and even today you know he took body blows I mean there

[00:09:04] was so many times when he was hit on his shoulder on his arm on his fingers and but the man just

[00:09:10] carried on he knew he had a task at hand he knew he needed to be out in the middle and you know

[00:09:15] just need to appreciate that right well I think the appreciation has always been that in the 2018

[00:09:20] series was a player of the series and you know everybody raised raised a toast to his heroic

[00:09:26] batsmanship even then so he's done exactly what he is known to do and renowned to do and what

[00:09:31] he's best at doing which is to you know drop anchor he's the sheet anchor of the team and he's

[00:09:37] just susses out the situation as he as we saw in the previous match and in this especially when

[00:09:43] the demand is to wear down the bulls there's I don't think there's another player in the world

[00:09:49] who bats like him you know he's got this kind of a zen-like zone that he gets into and nothing

[00:09:57] flushes him or you know shakes him up not you know bruises on the body etc etc I would have I

[00:10:04] thought at one stage that he might actually go back because he was hit so often for there was a

[00:10:09] spell especially with the second new ball when he was hit in the ball body repeatedly I thought

[00:10:13] he might actually go back and take some you know just get his bruises or tend to know but he stuck

[00:10:19] it out and that was really heroic and then look at the you know I said this before in our talk that

[00:10:25] you players like him have to play second fiddle do they are the more experienced and the better

[00:10:31] players to the stroke makers like Gil and Punt because if you don't supplement your ego and you

[00:10:39] start competing with them then you might end up in a mess and put the team also into a mess and

[00:10:43] that requires courage of conviction apart from physical courage just to cover more questions

[00:10:48] is what I let you go I mean you did talk about where this victory stands but just I mean you know

[00:10:52] what one month back they were 36 all out and you know there I mean everybody was criticizing

[00:10:57] this team and you know today they've beaten Australia at a venue where they haven't been beaten for

[00:11:02] 32 years so where exactly would you say you know this this test series victory stands for you at least

[00:11:08] in Indian cricket history well certainly the greatest series in my opinion and I'll tell you why

[00:11:13] one is there is a come from behind victory you know very often you lose the first test you end up

[00:11:19] struggling to square the series you are side winning it now there have been some instances when we've

[00:11:24] done it it happened against Sri Lanka and I think 2015 when we beat Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka having

[00:11:30] lost the first test and then of course we all remember that magnificent series India versus Australia

[00:11:36] in 2000 2001 and built around that Dravid Lakshman partnership which turns the series around we had

[00:11:43] lost the first test we went on to win the series but this is a series which has come out not it's

[00:11:49] not a home series it's not played in the subcontinent it is played in Australia with Australia at full

[00:11:54] strength and India not at full strength and at the Gaba where Australia haven't lost in 32 years I

[00:12:00] mean I can't think of a greater series in Indian cricket history than this okay my ultimate last

[00:12:07] question of you we had so many debut dance during the series we had Surah Siraj Sundar Shobman

[00:12:13] Gil I mean who do you think would you say impressed you the most you know that's it's a very unfair

[00:12:18] question because so many of them have been such teller performers in the series I mean the Shobh

[00:12:23] Panth you know everybody was critical of him in fact the questions we were asked you know is that

[00:12:28] oh does he deserve a place in the team because of his wicket keeping he dropped catches and then

[00:12:33] you know just he was almost consigned to the to the rubbish bin but the management trusted him

[00:12:39] the captain trusted his ability and look at what's happened so he's been obviously one of the heroes

[00:12:44] you can't not count him as a hero after this performance today Shobhman Gil you know not the first

[00:12:50] choice opening batsman that was the Rishabh Panth he got the opportunity and hasn't looked back and

[00:12:54] not just not look back he's looked a classic player I mean he's just so good on the eye and he's

[00:13:00] the guy who actually kept at least this morning on the fifth morning India and the hunt for

[00:13:06] a you know possible win after Rohit Sharma had fallen very fairly early then there's Mama Siraj

[00:13:12] you know not the first choice Bola picks up what 30s wickets in the series in three tests which

[00:13:17] is the best by any Indian Bola more than Bumara more than Ashwin and remember he's playing in his

[00:13:21] first series he's played all the three test matches and then of course Sharjul Thakur Washington

[00:13:26] Sundar even teen Natarajan I mean these guys were some of Thakur and Natarajan were netbola they

[00:13:34] were not even part of the squad they were inducted into a squad later even Washington Sundar came here

[00:13:39] for white ball cricket and look at his contribution a half century under the most daunting circumstances

[00:13:45] also by Thakur and then that firey spell by Thakur very picked up four wickets Siraj picked up five

[00:13:51] I mean there is no death of he was who can forget Rani second test match just after India has been

[00:13:55] blown away for 36 comes and makes a century and inspires an Indian wickland that's where

[00:14:02] things started to turn around so dramatically so I you know you mentioned in the start

[00:14:07] the only way to describe it is team effort I think that's absolutely right Tishya as

[00:14:12] it may sound I was going to say that because I asked you to name one person I think you're

[00:14:16] pretty much named everybody but that is what the magic of this series was it was a complete team

[00:14:21] effort and a team effort from us as well thank you Ias for joining us today and in the last of our

[00:14:26] podcasts of this series we all see challenge podcast thank you Ias thank you Mandar as

[00:14:30] be a pleasure speaking to you after every day thank you so much and thank you all for listening

[00:14:35] to the Aussie challenge podcast with Ias Maman on the quint powered by farm easy India's largest

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