The way head coach Gautam Gambhir and some others in the Team India dressing room celebrated Akash Deep hitting a boundary to help avoid the follow-on on Tuesday in Brisbane has been in the spotlight. Captain Rohit Sharma, though, had no problems with such celebrations as he too feels it was “a little victory” for his side to have avoided the follow-on even when the writing was on the wall in the final session of Day IV of the drawn Gabba Test.
“It doesn’t matter. I have been here enough number of times to understand what mind games are. From a personal point of view, we were behind in the game, so it was a little victory for us to avoid that follow-on.
“Looking at the weather and where the game was heading, we managed a draw, though Australia were ahead. So, it was a little victory for us. There’s no harm in celebrating that,” Rohit said at the news conferenceon Wednesday.
Having earned a draw, which is how the team management seems to look at it, Rohit believes India will be going into the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne on December 26 with a positive frame of mind. “It might appear that we were lagging behind in this Test, but we take a lot from here,” the skipper said.
“I’m immensely proud of the attitude we have shown because runs and wickets are one thing, but if your attitude and character are good, then you can turn the impossible into possible.”
After India’s first innings ended at 260, resuming on 252/9, Australia’s second-innings total of 89/7 declared underlines that the hosts had made one final attempt on the last day of the Test to force a result. But rain interrupted play again with India 8/0 in 2.1 overs of their second innings, and conditions were such that a restart wasn’t possible.
India's Jasprit Bumrah celebrates the wicket of Australia's Marnus Labuschagne during play on day five of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane, Australia, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024
Rohit believes his teammates could have had a chance to put pressure on Australia even after being set a target of 275. “When we were here last, we had chased down 320-330 (328) on the last day and they know we are capable of chasing. Whatever happened today (Wednesday), it gave us confidence ahead of Melbourne, where the ball may not move so much. We have to analyse all these and proceed.”
Captain’s form
Speaking about his own batting, Rohit acknowledged that he hasn’t been performing well, though he’s quite confident about his preparation. “Yeah, I haven’t batted well. But I know what’s in my mind and how I’m preparing myself. All those boxes are very much ticked.
“Sometimes those numbers can tell you it’s been a while since he has got big runs. But for a person like me, I think it’s all about how I feel in my mind, what kind of preparation I’m having before each game and how I feel about myself,” the skipper said.