Why India needs Captain Ajinkya?

   Photo courtesy: BCCI

To have inspired the Indian team from smouldering ashes of Adelaide to one of the greatest test series victories (2-1) at Brisbane, is a fine testimony to Ajinkya Rahane’s extraordinary leadership.

Plotting Australia’s defeat at the Gabba, which no other team had managed in last 33 years, with a second-rung bowling attack, showcased Indian captain’s tactical nous and rare ability to find the right foot soldiers to finish the job. 

The historic three-wicket victory at Gabba was a magnificent team effort, shouldered by the likes of Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, T. Natarajan, Mohammed Siraj and man of the match Rishab Pant. 

Clearly, the captain, along with the coaches, had created an ecosystem of rare self-belief and courage, which allowed his severely depleted team to pull off one of the greatest escape to victories the game has ever seen.

Going into the Brisbane test, the team’s five bowlers had collectively played only four test matches, which included two debutants Sundar and Natarajan. The senior most bowler, Siraj had played two tests, Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini had played one each. 

What’s even more impressive is India largely bowled in the first innings of the Brisbane test with only four bowlers, as Saini had pulled groin muscle in his eighth over. Yet, they ran through the Aussie batting line-up (369), which had the likes of David Warner, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.

Let’s start from where Ajinkya took over the captaincy in the 2020-21 Australia tour. The 22 yards of the Adelaide pitch, on the third day, would have felt like a mass grave of the Indian team, which was shot down for its lowest ever test score of 36. 

After the match, the dressing room must have felt like the darkest place in the world. The humiliating eight-wicket defeat at Adelaide must have crushed the soul of the entire team, including a veteran like coach Ravi Shastri. 

The bus journey from the Adelaide Oval to the hotel must have been tortuous. A few of the players, after returning to their rooms, may have even skipped their meal. Bed may have been the only refuge for their tormented body and soul. And yet the mind may have played the ‘devastating defeat’ on the loop till the body shut itself to sleep. 

Don’t forget, Ajinkya had scored a duck in that infamous team score of 36. And yet, the next morning, he must have picked himself up from the deepest recess of abject misery for he had to lead the side in the next match at Melbourne’s MCG. Or may be it had taken a couple of days to find that reserve of steel within him (or was it titanium). He not only had to recover himself, he had to make sure his teammates also did the same. 

From here, they could have gone only in two directions - barely go through the motion and return home with a 0-3 or 0-4 series defeat or fight for redemption. 

Ajinkya inspired his team to choose the latter. 

The team had already lost one of its ace bowlers, Mohammed Shami, who had fractured his bowling arm and their best batsman and skipper Virat Kohli had returned home on paternity leave. 

Ajinkya made four changes. In came Ravindra Jadeja, Pant and two debutants, opener Gill and medium pacer Siraj. The team was now ready to fight back at the MCG and the captain led from the front to craft one of the greatest comebacks in cricketing history. 

After superbly restricting the Aussies for 195, Ajinkya played the most resilient innings of his career, a glorious 112. Perhaps, it was the most defining knocks of the series. 

The inspiring century by the captain had decisively dispelled all the remaining doubts in the collective consciousness of the team. Later, the players rallied around its leader to script a sensational eight-wicket victory. 

Not only had Ajinkya batted brilliantly, he had astutely set his field and marshalled his depleted bowling attack. Quite befittingly, Ajinkya was declared the man of the match.

From the depths of despair, the series had suddenly come alive. 

The team India was now infused with new vigour and resolve and it showed in ample measure in the Sydney test. Despite losing its senior fast bowler Umesh Yadav to calf muscle injury in the MCG test, this team was not losing any sleep. Fast bowler Navdeep Saini was handed a test cap, and the debutant organically fused into the redemption theme. 

As expected, the Aussies came hard at the touring side. Batting second, India had faltered, scoring only 244 in reply to Australia’s 338. More crucially, India had lost another key player to injury, Jadeja fractured the thumb of his bowling arm while batting against Mitchell Starc. 

Set a target of 407 in the fourth innings against the best contemporary bowling attack, with the likes of Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, Ajinkya must have summoned a team huddle to reinvigorate his boys for another fight to the finish. 

After perishing on the second ball of the final day, Ajinkya played a masterstroke by sending Pant at number five instead of Hanuma Vihari. The gamble paid off as Pant played a heroic knock of 97, putting a 148-run partnership with team’s most trusted warrior, Cheteshwar Pujara (77). 

India was still looking down the barrel with half the side back in the pavilion for 272. What followed was one of the fiercest stonewalling put up by two batsmen in saving a match. And with it team’s honour. 

Vihari (23), who had pulled his hamstring during the knock and could barely run, and Ravichandran Ashwin (39) batted for almost half a day to score 62 runs in 42.4 overs. India had again found two heroes during the gripping climax, which saw the Aussies turn on the heat on all counts, including barrage of bouncers and sledging but the unrelenting duo accomplished a draw that was perhaps greater than a victory. 

For the final test at Brisbane, Indian team had lost its two main protagonists of the Sydney test, Vihari and Ashwin, and also Jasprit Bumrah to injuries. The unfazed captain, Ajinkya, blooded two more players to test cricket - Sundar and Natarajan. Another player who was drafted in was Shardul Thakur. 

Several experts thought the Indian captain had made a mistake by playing Sundar instead of Kuldip Yadav. By now, deep into the business end of the series, Ajinkya the captain was in the zone - whoever he summoned transformed into a champion.

How remarkably Sundar (62) repaid his captain’s confidence by first taking three crucial wickets, and then partnering Thakur (67) to put up a stand of 123 runs for the seventh-wicket. The boys had once again counter punched when the opposition had pushed them into a corner. 

Later, it was Siraj’s turn to shine. He ran through the Aussie middle order, including the prized wickets of Lauschagne (25), and Steve Smith (55), to finish with an impressive five for 73.

Set a rather steep target of 328 in the fourth innings at Gabba, Gill (91) and Pujara (56) batted with aplomb to anchor a monumental chase that was brought to fruition by another heroic unbeaten innings by Pant (89).

How an unassuming leader, with his disarming smile, sheer astuteness and indefatigable spirit, had moulded a team of mostly greenhorns into a champion side.

The memorable series win against the Aussies in their backyard, when the team kept losing valuable players to injuries, will go down as one of the greatest the cricketing world has witnessed. 

It would be a travesty if India never gets to know what more captain Ajinkya could achieve for the country.