Michael Vaughan takes a U-turn, hails Team India for an incredible fightback
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan lauded Team India for their character and determination in staging a strong comeback in the ongoing fourth Test against Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane.
Despite their plethora of injury woes, the visitors have punched above their weight with limited resources. After restricting Australia to 369 in their first innings, Team India recovered from 186-6 to concede only a 33-run lead.
Michael Vaughan, who had earlier predicted a series whitewash for the visitors, took to Twitter to praise Team India's incredible bench strength.
Michael Vaughan had predicted Australia to beat Team India across all formats
Before India embarked on their tour of Australia, Michael Vaughan had made a bold prediction that the visitors won't win any series across all three formats.
Although Team India lost the ODI series 2-1, they came back strongly to win the T20I series by the same margin. However, Michael Vaughan still persisted with his prediction that the visitors would be blown away in the longest format.
Team India got off to the worst possible start in the Test series, as they were annihilated inside three days in the first Test at the Adelaide Oval after getting bowled out for a paltry 36 in their second innings.
The visitors' appalling batting collapse in Adelaide lend credence to Michael Vaughan's earlier prediction that Team India would suffer a series whitewash.
However, the true character of a team comes out in times of adversity, and Team India dished out an incredible fightback that none saw coming, especially after regular captain Virat Kohli left the squad for the birth of his first child..
Stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane led from the front, scoring a resilient hundred in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne that enabled the visitors to level the series.
In the third Test at the SCG, Team India had their backs to the wall when they had to bat out 131 overs on the fifth day to save the game. However, Cheteshwar Pujara's resilience and a blistering counter-attacking knock from Rishabh Pant set up the visitors for an improbable chase.
Although the win was not to be, an injured Hanuma Vihari and a bruised Ravichandran Ashwin batted for over 40 overs, allowing Team India to keep the series alive with a highly creditable draw.
With Australia enjoying a formidable record in Brisbane - the venue of the fourth Test - where they have not lost a Test in three decades, Team India were up against it.
Missing upto six first-team regulars, the beleaguered visitors handed two debuts and fielded a five-pronged bowling attack with a cumulative experience of only three Tests.
In response to Australia's 369, Team India looked like conceding a huge lead when they slipped to 186-6. However, Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur's record 123-run stand for the seventh wicket brought the visitors roaring back into the game.
Australia have swelled their lead to 54 runs at the end of the third day's play and have all ten wickets in hand. However, they face a tall task to force a win that would enable them to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Team India, on the other hand, require only a draw to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. If the visitors manage to restrict the hosts to a manageable second-innings total, they would even fancy their chances of recording arguably their best away series win.
It remains to be seen how Australia approach the last two days of the intriguing Test, as the weather forecast in Brisbane is not very 'encouraging'. Would they risk a loss while trying to go for a win and see their proud record at the Gabba come to an end? Only time will tell.