India's win in the 2021 Gabba Test against Australia, played in the middle of a Covid lockdown, will forever be counted among the greatest Test matches. Here's the story of the match in the words of some who played and were present in the dressing rooms.

Vikram Rathour, India assistant coach: In Sydney [third Test] people were allowed to go out and have meals and walk around, but suddenly [in Brisbane], some [Covid] restrictions came in - that you can't be going out, you'll have to stick to your rooms, and there won't be any housekeeping provided. They won't come and change your sheets and things like that.

I was asked a question in the press conference [ahead of the Brisbane Test], whether the hard Covid protocols were disturbing the team. I said, when you are playing for your country and especially against a team like Australia and the kind of series that we were having, you don't need the [lack of] housekeeping to motivate you. It can be a little bit of a nuisance, but we were an extremely motivated group. We were pretty keyed up and we wanted to play that Test because it was turning into a very, very special series.

Sridharan Sriram, Australia assistant coach: It was a strict lockdown, so the players were not in the best frame of mind and there was a lot of moaning. Another factor was the pitch. Gabba is one place where the practice wicket and the game wicket are very similar in the way they play. But on the first day we went for practice, the first ball Josh Hazlewood bowled to David Warner, it just went dead. And Warner was like, "This is not the Brisbane wicket." The Brisbane Test always happens in November or early December, but this one was being played in [the middle of] January and by that time the venue had already played about seven or eight Big Bash games on it. The temperatures were in the mid-30s Celsius, so the wicket had really flattened out and I thought even before the Test started that that deflated some of the Aussie players. The Gabba was not the fortress anymore.

Tim Paine elected to bat, sensing Australia could take advantage of the inexperienced Indian bowling line-up, which included two debutants brought into the XI at the last minute: the Tamil Nadu pair of Washington Sundar and T Natarajan, who had initially come in as net bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin were declared unfit on the morning of the match, adding to an already long list of injured players.

Shardul Thakur with pal Mohammed Siraj to his right after the win. "I plucked a stump. That and a picture of us doing the victory lap with me carrying the Indian flag. It was the icing on the cake for me" Bradley Kanaris / © Getty Images

Rishabh Pant, India wicketkeeper-batter: If we had another game [in the series] we would not have been able to field 11. We might have had to play with ten players.

Rathour: Suddenly you didn't know who was fit. Ashwin was injured, [Hanuma] Vihari was injured. You had to bring in Shardul [Thakur], [Navdeep] Saini and two debutants, Washy and Nattu. It was a different kind of challenge, but they all stood up. The reason Shardul and Washy were picked was a lot to do with their batting. At that stage we needed people who could bat and bat deeper, because it was going to be a challenging wicket.

Marnus Labuschagne scored a century at his home ground, but India did not let Australia dominate on the first day, which they finished on 274 for 5. Thakur took his first Test wicket with his first ball.

Rathour: Each time a partnership developed, we kept taking wickets. It never really went out of hand. We never really let the game drift for too long. Whenever it started feeling like you needed a wicket, it happened.

Shardul Thakur, India medium-pace bowling allrounder: I saw there was some swing and seam when [Mohammed] Siraj and Natarajan operated, but I was coming in after about eight overs, so I didn't know how much the ball was going to swing. The plan was to try and shape the ball back in to Marcus Harris and try to hit him on the pads. He flicked it straight into the hands of the square-leg fielder. I heard on commentary afterwards someone on air describing my first-ball wicket, saying it was a loosener. But Mr [Sunil] Gavaskar said: "136-some ks cannot be a loosener."

Later, the over in which I got Tim Paine [the 100th of the innings] was going to actually be the last over of my spell. I tried releasing one ball wide of the crease, with the aim of swinging it away, because he was leaving the ball quite a lot. That worked and Rohit [Sharma] took a brilliant catch at second slip. In my next over I got Pat Cummins too.

Marnus Labuschagne set up Australia's first innings with 108 David Kapernick / © AFP/Getty Images

Natarajan was bowling superbly. His first two spells were brilliant on day one. Even towards the end of the first evening, when it didn't look like we'd get a wicket, he got Labuschagne and [Matthew] Wade with similar deliveries: back of a length, and both swung their bats and got out in similar fashion.

Washy had superb control in that game. Him and Rohit spoke about a plan I sensed, even though I was standing at deep point. We then saw Rohit stand much closer to [Steven] Smith at short midwicket. Usually you are three, four steps back. Smith straightaway flicked into his hands.

Washington, who took over the role performed by Ashwin and picked up 3 for 89, including Cameron Green.

Sriram: Washy was not bowling the traditional fourth-stump line. He was bowling more middle and leg. The Aussies are used to playing that fourth-stump line of an offspinner, where they can sometimes open their hands and access the off side. But Washy was very tight and because [Australia] are not big sweepers, the scoring options were a bit restricted. They were not able to open up the off side, which meant that they were trying to play across the line and play around their pads, which I think got most of the dismissals. Steve Smith was a lapse in concentration, and Green was beaten by a straight delivery.

We were easily a hundred runs short because we left a lot out there.

The Australian bowlers made quick forays, though. India were 186 for 6 when Thakur walked out to join Washington. Their 123-run partnership, during which they batted against the old and new ball, lasted 36 overs and was the reason India kept the lead to just 33 runs.

That '60s show: Thakur and Washington boosted India out of a hole with their century partnership, making 67 and 62 respectively in India's first innings © AFP via Getty Images

Thakur: Washy said, the pitch is decent to bat on, there's not a lot that is happening, it's just that the Aussie bowlers are coming hard at us. They are trying to bounce us out every two or three balls and bowling really good lengths. Neither of us spoke about scoring runs in that moment, we spoke about spending time in the middle. There was rain forecast and it looked like we would lose some game time, probably on day four, and a lot of time on day five. So we told each other we needed to spend time in the middle and stretch the innings as much as possible.

Rathour: I had seen enough of Shardul in the nets and I really loved his batting, especially on bouncy tracks. He was batting like any good batter would in those conditions, and he was extremely comfortable against everybody who was bowling quick. He has that fearless thing in him where he's not really too worried about the occasion or opposition.

Washy was a revelation too. We knew enough of him: that this kid can bat. Later in his career, there were times that as a batting group, we felt that he can bat even at three or four, if there's ever a need to do that. So, of course, these two could bat, but to do it when the team is under pressure and in tough conditions in Australia in a Test match, in a must-win game, it made their performance very creditable.

Thakur pulled a six against Cummins off the third ball he faced. Later he charged Nathan Lyon to hit another six to raise his first Test half-century.

Thakur: [The first six] was pure instinct. Subconsciously I thought, there's no square leg, there's just one fielder waiting at fine leg. Cummins aimed at my ribcage, I played the shot instinctively, thinking that if it goes into the hands of the one fielder who is in the deep, then I am unfortunate. But it went for a six and I heard a sudden roar from the crowd. I tried stealing a glance at the Indian dressing room. [I thought] they would say, "What the hell are you doing? You're trying to smack the first ball while we want you to spend some time in the middle?"

After I hit Lyon for a six, Washy said: "Macha, I was damn sure that you are going to hit a six and complete your fifty." I said to him, "Boss, no, I was not trying to hit him for a six."

Offies have off days too: Nathan Lyon went for 150 runs in the Test, for three wickets David Kappernick / © AFP/Getty Images

In the previous Test I had seen how Cheteshwar Pujara had tackled Lyon in Sydney when the ball was turning square. He was using his feet a lot - stepping out but also going deep in his crease. And initially when I faced Lyon, I tried to stay deep in my crease, but I realised he could get me out if I got stuck there, with the tempting lines and lengths - you would attempt to push the ball towards cover and get a nick against a ball that turns in, and short leg comes into play. So I felt the best way was to use my feet. With the kind of field placement he had, I was trying to go on the off side when I stepped out against the turn. But that delivery was right in the slot [to go over long-on].

Rohit was talking to me in sign language from the dugout. He would indicate when a bowler was tiring or coming to the end of his spell. Like, I think that happened when Hazlewood was coming to the end of a spell. Rohit asked me to wait and not push to play shots.

Sriram: At the time India were 186 for 6, there was a sense [in the Australia dressing room] of "We've got this game." Nobody expected Shardul to come out and play in that fashion. The Aussie bowlers were taken a little by surprise by his counterattack. Even Nathan Lyon was not able to impose himself. Usually Lyon and Hazlewood hold one end up if things go awry. That was not the ideal first two days that Australia wanted.

When they finished just 33 runs adrift of Australia's first-innings score, India seemed rejuvenated.

Rathour: That gave a lot of confidence to the whole group, that the game was still on and if we bowled well in the second innings, we could produce something special.

Siraj turned in an inspired bowling performance in the second innings, and he was complemented well by Thakur again. Australia started strongly, with Warner and Harris providing a rapid start. At 89 for 0 on day four, Australia were looking to build a big lead, but Siraj took his maiden five-for, which he dedicated emotionally to his late father, who had died during the IPL, which was played in the UAE just before the Australia tour. Siraj missed the funeral because of the difficulty of travelling at a time when Covid restrictions were in place. In his debut Test, in Melbourne, he suffered racist abuse but proved that he was thick-skinned, strong of temperament, and had endurance and skills aplenty.

Mohammed Siraj took seven wickets across the Melbourne and Sydney Tests, and in Brisbane he got David Warner nicking to slip in the first over of the Test and scooped the meat out of Australia's batting in their second innings Bradley Kanaris / © Getty Images

Thakur: Nattu had a knee issue and Saini had a groin injury, so it literally was Siraj, Washy and myself [among the bowlers] fit in the second innings. The cracks emerged on the final two days, so we knew if we stayed close to the stumps and if we could exploit one or two cracks that were around the 6-7-metre mark, on and around off stump, we'll be able to get wickets. Siraj got Smith at gully and Labuschagne at slips with that plan, where the ball flew from a length.

That final wicket of Hazlewood [Siraj's fifth] was important for two things. One, we wanted to close their innings as soon as possible. And it was emotional for Siraj because he had lost his father. When I took the catch, I was happy because I had wished that Siraj should get a five-for, and god-willing the catch came to me.

Rathour: Siraj is a special kid, has a great temperament, the kind of energy he brings into the whole group… I remember those celebrations him and Mayank [Agarwal] did after every wicket - they would look at the sky and dedicate it to Siraj's dad.

Thakur finished the match with seven wickets, taking 4 for 61 in the second innings.

Thakur: At one point when I went in to wear a fresh shirt when we were bowling in the first innings, Ravi bhai [Shastri, the coach] gave me an earful. I had tried a few balls early in my spell, attempting to take a wicket, something I did in domestic cricket. Ravi bhai came down from viewing box and angrily said to me: "Bull [Thakur's nickname], come on, bowl in the right channels. Don't give them anything. When our batters bat, they don't give us anything. They [Australia bowlers] are always on the length." So I kept that in mind in the second innings and tried to challenge the Aussie batters.

I had bowled about five overs in that spell before I got Harris. In that first spell, I bowled probably only one bouncer before that, and that was to David Warner. Their lead was 100-plus, so I had to be careful with the bouncer and bowl it at the right moment. We had a deep square leg and fine leg in place and the side boundaries were big. So if I had to take a chance, I would take a chance on a bouncer rather than trying to hit Harris on the pads or trying to open his gates and bowl him with a full delivery. I had a gut feeling that maybe the bouncer was the right option there and I went with it. Harris tried to duck it but it looked like he wasn't ready for that ball.

And he can bowl too: Thakur's bustling attack fetched him 3 for 94 and 4 for 61 in the game, alongside his 69 runs Patrick Hamilton / © AFP/Getty Images

Then with the old ball later in the day I got both Paine and Green. I remember Siraj telling me that the ball was reversing. I told him it was swinging normally for me. With the shine on the inside, I tried to [reverse-] swing the ball into Green's pads, but that delivery swung normally and went away. Green tried to play a shot, thinking it was coming in to him, but the outside edge flew fast towards slips, where Rohit caught it.

Sriram: When Smith got one [from Siraj] that really climbed and got the glove and he got caught at gully, that was when we had a feeling the pitch was starting to behave up and down, and there was a belief it would continue to deteriorate and there would be variable bounce. So the general consensus was that a 300-plus target was enough

India started the final day of the series at 4 for 0, but Rohit fell early.

Rathour: We didn't know how to approach the day actually, because all three results were on, so you didn't want to say anything to the players. Because you knew if you played well, you could draw this Test match. We had drawn the Test in Sydney, which was a huge achievement. Australia were backing themselves to win [in Brisbane] from that stage. There was some forecast of rain. We would've been happy as a team if it was a drawn game as well, because by that time we had already played a very, very special series.

At lunch Ravi wanted me to have a word with [Shubman] Gill [who was unbeaten on 64], who had looked to pull or hook when the Australians challenged him with a burst of short-pitched bowling at the stroke of lunch. So Ravi wanted me to have a chat with him just telling him to be careful and be clear about what he was doing. I asked Gill: "What are your thoughts on the short bowling?" And the kind of explanation that he gave me - "See, [the boundary on] this end is a little smaller, the end [Mitchell] Starc is bowling from. If it's below my shoulder, I'm going to pull it, I can definitely hit him for a six. If it's above my head or in this line, I'm going to duck, and if it's this, I'm going to tap it down." That kid had so much clarity about what he was going to do. I said, "Don't worry. Just go in and bat. You know what you are doing." There was no confusion, he was very clear, so I didn't want to tell him, "You better leave these short balls", or "Don't look to survive." Nothing like that. He was very clear what he was looking to do and what length and what height. He had his gameplan sorted. So I said, "Go ahead, boss."

Shubman Gill was dismissed by Lyon short of a hundred, but the foundations of India's victory were well laid by then © Getty Images

During the lunch break Gill also had a chat with Pant, away from the rest of the group.

Pant: We were talking about playing to win and not for a draw. [Gill] said the wicket was fine and the runs were coming at a fair clip. We spoke about just playing and scoring - the runs will come.

Thakur: I was on the other side of the dressing room. I just casually said to Rishabh: "Bhai, yahan pe toh hum log match jeet bhi sakte hain. [We can even win this match.] Everyone will think it is best to go for the draw, but the target is very much on." He just listened and smiled.

The phase that probably shifted the balance of the game towards India was the nine overs starting with the last over before lunch, where they scored 51 runs. Gill then missed out on his century, but India's captain, Ajinkya Rahane, did not let the momentum go, hitting 24 off 22 balls.

Sriram: About three overs before lunch, I remember Starc was going for that bouncer plan. And Gill got away and India got some quick runs. And that again gave India the hope that they were in the game. To me that was the turning point on day five, because if we had shut down those runs, India would never have been looking to take the game.

Cheteshwar Pujara, India top-order batter: Shubman thought he had to take Starc on [in the 20-run 46th over, after lunch, where Gill hit two fours and a six and Pujara a four]. He was very confident of the way he was batting, playing his pull and cut well. To be honest, Starc didn't bowl well in that spell. Whenever I got a loose ball, I also hit him. That was part of our strategy. In the first session I will be quiet, but in the second session, I told myself I am going to play my shots whether it is Cummins, Hazlewood or Starc.

Sticks and stones may break my bones but cricket balls will never crush my spirit: Cheteshwar Pujara put on a masterclass of cussed defiance in the chase Tertius Pickard / © Associated Press

Pujara bravely endured several hits to the body in an over five-hour-long innings, which lasted 211 balls, scoring 54.

Pujara: I ended up getting too many balls from the tougher end. There was a time when I told myself that if Shubman faces too many balls from this end, it could be dangerous. I didn't want to expose him. I didn't communicate that [to Gill], but I felt that he looked comfortable at the other end, so if I have to just hang around at my end, I will do that.

Rathour: Puji was doing what he does. Puji was just there, like a wall, getting hit on his shoulders, on his chest, on his stomach, on his elbows. There was some inconsistent bounce and Cummins was bowling superbly. The series was on the line for them. Huge credit to that Aussie bowling attack, because by that time, it was their fourth Test in a row, the same three fast bowlers playing. And every Test, outside of 36 all out [Adelaide], they were made to bowl long spells, work hard for wickets. In the Gabba Test they were still running in and bowling 140kph. Hats off to those guys. In the fourth Test match, second or third session of the fifth day, they were still running in hard.

Sriram: The amount of body blows that Pujara got was unbelievable because I remember him taking off his shirt [later] and there were so many ball marks on his chest. That just sort of flattened the Aussie bowlers. The Aussie mentality is never to play for a draw; you either win it or lose it. The Aussie bowlers were thinking, "We can crack open this game. We'll attack them and we'll get them out." Whereas I was saying, don't give them runs, because that way you are giving India hope. But if you shut them down and they're like even 130 for 4 by tea, you still have 200-220 runs to play with and you can go for the kill in the last session and then you're not losing that Test match.

At tea India needed 145. Pant was unbeaten on 10 and Pujara strong on 43.

Rathour: When the day started, I remember us looking at the sky and looking at predictions and forecasts, and now [in the last session] we realised it was the Australian team who were doing that, because we were getting closer and closer to the target.

There were a lot of times when Pant was batting that Ravi wanted to send a message out, but nobody was going in [to the room]. Nobody was saying anything to Pant. I walked out because there was so much talk from Ravi. "Tell him something!" I went out to the dugout and saw Rohit and Ajinkya sitting together. I said, "Jinks, do you want to send any message to Pant?" And Rohit said, "Don't say anything to him, paaji. Let him bat. He's not going to listen to whatever we say."

Rishabh Pant flayed, smacked, pinched and grifted 89 runs over three hours to take India home Tertius Pickard / © Associated Press

Lyon had started the series ten short of 400 wickets. He would not get to the milestone during the series, and now Pujara and Pant tormented him with their distinctive styles of defence and aggression. The assault by Pant on Lyon on the final day left the spinner stroking his chin.

Pant: I remember the six [off Lyon] over long-on [in the 76th over]. The ball before spun away sharply and went straight to first slip. I was like, the bowler must be getting madly excited seeing the ball spinning square. I had just arrived at the crease and not faced a lot of balls. He would have thought: I will bowl it here [close to the spot from which the ball turned big] and get the ball to spin away a little bit. I noticed the mid-on was up. I suspected he would bowl slightly towards the middle-stump line. I read the ball from his hand - the flight and the line were exactly as I had imagined. Appan toh ready thhey. [I was ready for it.] So I thought, why not have some fun.

Sriram: On day five, in the morning, before the start, both Pant and me were standing in the centre of the pitch. Looking at all those cracks, he said: "Sri bhai, in India you never see the pitch on the fifth day. Look at these cracks, wonder what could happen." His mindset, I felt, was not to go for a draw. That one ball where he hit Lyon for a six over long-on, [Lyon] did not expect it. Lyon told me nobody would have done that, because the previous ball had turned so much and gone to slip. Lyon said, no one's stepping out and hitting me over long-on - at least if he hits me over mid-off, it makes sense, but to hit against the spin over long-on was outrageous.

With the target down to ten runs, Washington got out. Seven runs later, Thakur was dismissed.

Rathour: Before that, I remember specifically Washy pulled Cummins for a six and then, maybe, cut him for a four. And that was at a time I really believed we were winning. Washy and Shardul tried to be the heroes. That's a mistake people can make: to try to finish it big. Washy was batting so well, and with ten to go, he plays a reverse sweep and is bowled. And soon Shardul is looking to play it over somebody's head.

Thakur: I was riding high on confidence from the first-innings performance. Unfortunately, attempting to hit over the leg side I top-edged. I had picked two runs off a similar sort of delivery, which I had flicked off the hips. The pressure was once again on. When I headed to the dugout, Rohit scolded me for not finishing it, but I defended myself saying I was not playing a rash shot.

With three needed for victory, Pant lined up to face the last ball of Hazlewood's 22nd over. With Saini nursing an injured groin and Siraj and Natarajan to follow, Pant made up his mind.

The only time we'll kneel: India's players say cheese with the Border Gavaskar trophy secured Tertius Pickard / © Associated Press

Pant: I told Saini to run wherever the ball was, just run. I told him if anyone gets run-out, it has to be you at this stage.

Rathour: By that time, all of us were out. Nobody was in the coach's room other than maybe Ravi and the analyst, Hari. There were so many nerves and with Ravi shouting, "Send this!", "Say this!", nobody wanted to be in that room. Outside, I was just waiting and again worrying - what if these guys [Saini, Siraj, Natarajan] get the strike? Losing three in three balls was not something that was impossible at that stage. It can happen, and that's what even Pant felt. Fortunately, he got a full toss [from Hazlewood], and didn't really middle the ball but still hit it well enough. I remember Saini limping and running, managing to complete three [though the ball dribbled over the rope for four].

Pant: I did not know how to react. I was playing, we wanted to win and all that. But I was like, let me not get over-excited. It was very important for me. I hadn't played ODI and T20Is on the tour. I hadn't played the first Test match, so it was like a dream come true. Terrific that I won the game and the series for the team. That is where self-belief helps - when no one believes in you, you have to believe in yourself.

I remember one thing Rohit bhai said. "You don't know what you have done. When you leave cricket, you will realise what you have done."

Rathour: It was the greatest series for me. From 36 all out with all the experts writing us off, there were so many statements that it was going to be 4-0.

Thakur: When I saw the ball running past the mid-off fielder, it was coming towards the dugout, which was just beyond long-off. We were hoping the ball didn't slow down. Once it went over the rope, we just ran in. There were a lot emotions - people fell on the ground, rolled on the ground, it was all crazy scenes. After a few minutes we started realising that we have created history, beating Australia twice in Australia after doing it for the first time in the 2018-19 series. Of course in that series they did not have Warner and Smith, but this time they had a full-strength side, and as the series progressed, we were losing players in each game and losing experienced players. With that kind of inexperienced side, you beat Australia in Australia to clinch the series 2-1, it was phenomenal.

I plucked a stump. That and a picture of us doing the victory lap with me carrying the Indian flag. It was the icing on the cake for me.

Rishabh Pant's quotes in this article are from an interview with Star Sports. Cheteshwar Pujara's from an interview with ESPNcricinfo after the Australia tour.

Nagraj Gollapudi is news editor at ESPNcricinfo

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

 

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