Debutants Gill, Siraj showed character, says skipper Rahane
MELBOURNE: India skipper Ajinkya Rahane on Tuesday singled out the debutant duo of Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj while commending the tremendous character shown by his side to turn it around in the second Test. Gill scored 45 and 35 not out in the game here while Siraj returned with five wickets, including three in Australia’s second innings.
“I am really proud of all the players. I want to give credit to the debutants Siraj and Gill, the character they showed after the Adelaide loss was great to see,” Rahane said at the post match presentation ceremony.
“Character was important for us, especially after losing Umesh in the second innings,” he added, referring to the mid-match injury suffered by pacer Umesh Yadav. Rahane said it is never easy for debutants to be consistently disciplined in their game but Gill and Siraj showed how it is done. “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. It’s really difficult for debutants to bowl with discipline but that’s where I think the first-class experience comes in handy,” he said.
Asked what the team discussed before the match, Rahane said,” 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.”
Rahane also acknowledged his own role as a leader, citing the five-bowler plan that yielded result. “That worked well for us nicely. We were thinking of having an all-rounder and (Ravindra) Jadeja has been brilliant for us.” Giving an update on Umesh’s calf muscle injury, Rahane said, “Umesh is recovering well, management and medical staff will take the call.”
He also talked about the arrival of swashbuckling regular opener Rohit Sharma for the third Test beginning January 7.
“We’re excited about Rohit coming back. Spoke to him yesterday, he’s waiting to join the team,” he said.
Rahane brought calmness: Ashwin
Rahane brought calmness in the dressing room in the absence of regular captain Virat Kohli, spinner Ravichandran Ashwin said on Tuesday.
“Getting bowled out for 36 was never going to be easy. We are quite a proud cricketing country and losing Virat was a bit of a setback,” the star-offspinner told 7 cricket.
“...but we stuck on really well. Jinks’ (Rahane’s) calmness in the dressing room really provided us that stability to go out there and express ourselves in this game.”
Down 0-1, India received further setback after fiery pacer Mohammed Shami was ruled out because of a fracture to his bowling arm. But Rahane’s bold captaincy stood out from day one itself when he pressed in Ashwin in the 11th over with the ball still new, possibly to use the off-spinner’s psychological upper hand over the Aussies batters in the pink ball Test.
It turned out to be a tactical masterstroke from Rahane as Ashwin dismissed Matthew Wade and India’s ‘nemesis’ Steve Smith for a second consecutive time in his first spell as Australia were bundled out for 195 in their first innings.
“Coming down to Australia and if you cannot get Steven Smith out, it is always going to be an uphill task,” the 34-yearold said about Smith’s dismissal.
“To get him out early is something that we have always worked on. We put together plans and when those plans come together, it is a pleasure,” Ashwin, who returned with a match-haul of five wickets, said.
“Jinks, Puji and Jassi, we have got a great bonding inside the team,” Ashwin said.