As India made a strong statement by winning the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and levelling the Test series 1-1, interim captain Ajinkya Rahane lauded his players for the character they showed under immense pressure.
Rahane was awarded 'Man-of-the-Match' for his excellent batsmanship in the Test match where his first-innings ton defined the positive Indian attitude amid adversity. But the skipper chose to instead shed light on how well his teammates, especially the debutants, held their own against the Aussies.
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"Really proud of all the players. Played really well. Want to give credit to the debutants (Mohammed) Siraj and (Shubman) Gill, the character they showed after the Adelaide loss was great to see," he said in the post-match presentation, as quoted by ANI.
India were crashed out to their lowest-ever score in the previous Test in Adelaide and suffered a humiliating defeat. They were also missing multiple first-choice picks, including their captain Virat Kohli, leading into this Test. Yet, Rahane went the aggressive route and rather than trying to provide extra cushion to the batting, opted to play five proper bowlers.
"Character was important for us, especially after losing Umesh in the second innings. That (five-bowler plan) worked well for us nicely. We were thinking of having an all-rounder and Jadeja has been brilliant for us," he said.
Rahane was mighty pleased with how opening batsman Shubman Gill and pacer Mohammed Siraj went on debut as they played their part in what will be remembered among the finest Indian Test wins abroad. While Gill batted superbly for his scores of 45 & 35*, Siraj bowled promising spells of 2/40 & 3/37.
"Shubman, we all know his first-class career and in this game, he has shown the intent to play shots at this level. Has shown composure. Siraj has shown that he can bowl with discipline," he said. "It's really difficult for debutants to bowl with discipline but that's where I think the first-class experience comes in handy."
Rahane revealed how the Indian dressing room went about mentally overcoming the trauma of Adelaide.
"The talk was all about showing the attitude and intent on the field. As I said, character. Adelaide was about one hour that took the game away from us. Lots to learn for even now. Australia applied themselves with their last five wickets," he said.
The skipper confirmed that opener Rohit Sharma is set to join the side for the third Test starting January 7, but didn't give any details on paceman Umesh Yadav's injury.
"Umesh is recovering well, management and medical staff will take the call. We're excited about Rohit coming back. Spoke to him yesterday, he's waiting to join the team," he signed off.
