Former India batsman VVS Laxman was all praise for stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane and his men as the tourists bounced back remarkably from the debacle of '36 all out' and registered a mighty impressive series-levelling win in the second Test. 

For Laxman, the victory inside four days also reinforced the quality and depth available in the side, with them missing multiple first-choice picks, including their regular captain Virat Kohli who returned home after the previous Test in Adelaide on paternity leave. 

Read Also - Australia willing to play Warner in Sydney even if not 100% fit: Andrew McDonald

"The Indian team completed one of its sweetest Test wins at its favourite hunting ground in Australia, the MCG. After the humiliation of being shot out for their lowest Test score in Adelaide, they could have been seized by self-doubt and a crisis in confidence," Laxman wrote in his column for the Times of India. 

"Credit is due to Ravi Shastri and the support staff for putting 36 all out in the first Test in perspective and ensuring the team was in the right mind-space."

Laxman was in awe of Rahane's tactically astute captaincy, especially on Day 1 of the Test where India dismissed the hosts for just 195 to set-up the game nicely. 

"The first steps towards victory were taken on Day One when, after losing the toss, India's brilliant bowlers knocked the hosts over for 195," he wrote. 

"Standing in for Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane marshalled his resources astutely, setting unorthodox fields and reaping rewards once the bowlers executed their plans impeccably, best exemplified by Marnus Labuschagne being caught at leg gully off Siraj. The Australian batting stood exposed, as did their overdependence on Steve Smith."

Laxman took special note of off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who got Steve Smith out cheaply for the second time in the series. In the first Test too, Ashwin had not allowed Smith to get going and had dismissed him before he could prove lethal. 

"R Ashwin seems to have the measure of Smith at the moment and backed up his performance in Adelaide with another lovely display of off-spin in Melbourne. It's the best I have seen Ashwin bowl overseas, and that's saying something given the peaks he has scaled," he wrote. 

On debut, opening batsman Shubman Gill and pacer Mohammed Siraj also played their part wonderfully. Both the players looked comfortable despite the magnitude of the occasion. While Gill made crucial scores of 45 and 35*, Siraj delivered vital spells of 2/40 and 3/37 in either innings. 

"I was heartened by the approach as well as the performances of debutants Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj," Laxman wrote. "They were not overawed by the stage and fitted in perfectly, which shows how well prepared and ready they were to perform at the highest level."

"It also reiterates India's burgeoning bench strength; even without their best batsman and their most experienced pacer on tour, Mohammed Shami, not to mention the absence of Ishant and Rohit Sharma, India didn't appear seriously handicapped."

Laxman, though, pointed out how Indians badly needed the defiant knock which Rahane played after the failures of Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara. Rahane struck inarguably one of his finest Test hundreds, scoring 112 to take India to a score of 326 and a first-innings lead of 131 with notable help at the other end from all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (57). 

"If there was one disappointment, it was that Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara failed in both innings, but Rahane more than made up with one of his most significant knocks," wrote Laxman. "Like at Lord's in 2014 when he set up the victory, he was aggressive and showed a lot of intent, which is when he is at his most effective. His statements of positivity rubbed off on Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja, propelling India to the only 300-plus total so far."

From Australia's perspective, Laxman is taken by surprise with their timid approach while batting in the series so far. The struggling hosts have failed to put the pressure back on the Indian bowlers and have managed to aggregate 200 runs only once in four innings. 

"Australia's approach in the second innings too baffled me," he wrote. "India was a bowler light with Umesh Yadav limping off, but a team that once scored at four runs an over struggled for even half that run-rate."

"Again, that is a tribute to the tremendous quality India projected as a bowling group, every cog functioning at heightened efficiency to compensate for Umesh Yadav's injury. India must celebrate this win with gusto."