CHENNAI: Adversities are mounting for India team. Yet, they keep coming up with solutions. Words like spirit, character and culture are repeatedly used whenever this team has won overseas. But there isn’t a better testimony of this than what was displayed during the Sydney Test. Even the backroom drama was equally gripping.
If Hanuma Vihari batted for more than three hours with an injured hamstring, Ravindra Jadeja was showing his warrior instincts in the dressing room. Set to undergo operation on Tuesday, the team management told him not to risk his injury, but the all-rounder wanted to bat. Even though visuals showed he needed help from Navdeep Saini to peel banana skin, he was ready. Not to forget Ashwin, who kept stretching in the dressing room since morning, to ensure his back wasn’t giving him any trouble.
Vihari is a busy batsman, who likes to keep the scoreboard moving. There was a reason why India retained him for this Test. He hasn’t scored a lot of runs but whenever he has, it has come at crucial times. For Ashwin, it was a battle like no other. India needed Ashwin the batsman to step up. Early in his innings, he realised he couldn’t stretch fully. “In the first three-four balls when I stretched, my back was shooting through from my lower-back to the neck,” he told bcci.tv after the day’s play. “I told him (Vihari) that I shouldn’t have played that shot over the top because it completely sort of tweaked it out... Then if I gave it a break and I didn’t play him for an over, my back was getting stiff again.”
On Monday, the plan was simple for India. Even though they arrived at the SCG well aware of Ashwin’s back, their Plan A was to go for the win. Which is why they promoted Rishabh Pant. Even when Pant was dismissed, Vihari was supposed to keep the tempo flowing.By the time Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed, it was time for survival.
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