After retaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2020-21, members of the victorious Indian cricket contingent, including skipper Ajinkya Rahane and coach Ravi Shastri, returned to the country on Thursday.
After the batting debacle at Adelaide and with Virat Kohli not being available for the remaining three Tests, many pundits predicted that India will get hammered by the hosts and will suffer a 4-0 drubbing.
Replying to every critic, Team India led by Ajinkya Rahane, despite being battered and bruised, showed great character and application to register historic victories at Melbourne (MCG) and Gabba, Brisbane. The team also registered a famous draw in Sydney.
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Making everyone proud by their performance in Australia, Team India members including head coach Ravi Shastri, skipper Ajinkya Rahane, vice-captain Rohit Sharma, pacer Shardul Thakur, and opener Prithvi Shaw touched down in Mumbai, while Brisbane Test hero Rishabh Pant arrived in Delhi.
On arrival in Mumbai, Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) officials including president Vijay Patil and apex council members Ajinkya Naik, Amit Dani, and Umesh Khanvilka felicitated the city-based players and made Rahane cut a cake to celebrate the team’s historic win over Australia.
T Natarajan, for whom it was an unforgettable tour as the former started as a net bowler and ended up becoming the first Indian cricketer to make his international debut across all three formats during the tour, landed in Bengaluru and is on his way to his village in Tamil Nadu's Salem.
Chennai-based members including veteran off-spinner R Ashwin, Washington Sundar, and bowling coach Bharat Arun are currently in Dubai and are expected to reach the country early morning on Friday.
Despite being battered and bruised, Team India led by Ajinkya Rahane defeated Australia by 3 wickets in the series decider at Gabba, Brisbane to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by the margin of 2-1.
(PTI Inputs)
