The Gabba win during the 2020–21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy remains etched in every Indian’s mind. But the reality before the game was different and, as now-retired Ajinkya Rahane has detailed, it was a harrowing medical battlefield.
What Did Ajinkya Rahane Say About Gabba Win Without Jasprit Bumrah?
Rahane, appearing on “The Overlap Cricket,” painted a vivid picture of an attack stripped of all premier names, leaving a group of rookies whose combined Test experience amounted to a meager five or six overs of prior cricket.
The frontline attack of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, and Ishant Sharma, alongside spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, was all sidelined due to injuries.
“He (Jasprit Bumrah) was not actually in Brisbane, the Gabba. He was injured,” Rahane said. “So in Gabba we had five bowlers amongst them the experience was like five or six overs cricket, that’s it.
“Siraj, Washington Sundar, was his debut. Siraj was second test match. Shardul Thakur, played first test match in India, bowled only two deliveries, got injured. So ideally his debut.”
Navdeep Saini broke down mid-match, battling through a hamstring tear yet refusing to leave the field, continuing to bowl despite extreme physical discomfort. Meanwhile, left-arm pacer T. Natarajan was managing a completely different level of physical strain.
“We had Natarajan debut. So he had to take two injections in his knees before the Brisbane test match,” Rahane concluded.
With an attack holding a collective experience of just four prior Test matches compared to Australia’s formidable, seasoned bowling lineup of 246 Tests, Rahane’s tactical orchestration of a hobbled, pain-stricken bowling unit remains one of the finest captaincy masterclasses in cricket history.
Notably, India chased down the highest successful run chase by any visiting team at the Gabba in Test history. While Cheteshwar Pujara endured over 10 body blows during his resilient knock, the inexperienced Indian bowling lineup took their grit a step further.