31 December,2020 09:31 AM IST | Mumbai | R Kaushik
India players celebrate the wicket of Australia`s Matthew Wade at Melbourne on Monday. Pic/Getty Images
Following Tuesday's remarkable eight-wicket win, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has emerged India's most successful hunting ground overseas. Fittingly, it was there that their maiden Test victory on Aussie soil too came, in 1977-78.
Subsequent wins in 1981 and 2018 solidified the bond between the team and the ground. Now, after the extraordinary recovery from the meltdown in Adelaide, future Indian teams will regard the iconic MCG as a home away from home.
GR Viswanath, the wristy genius from Bangalore, has a lowest score of 54 among one century and two fifties in three Test innings at the MCG, playing instrumental roles in consecutive victories split by two series and three years. "What a comeback, absolutely brilliant!" he gushed, elated at the character shown by Ajinkya Rahane and his warriors.
"Hindsight tells us it was a good toss to lose. However, the toss had little to do with the outcome. Like all Indian fans, I was anxious in the lead-up to this Test. I am glad my anxiety was misplaced."
Vishy was a part of the playing XI shot out for 42 at Lord's in 1974, India's lowest Test tally until two weeks back when they plummeted to 36 all out at the Adelaide Oval. "I went through it as a player. I didn't expect to see a debacle like that again in our lifetime," he shuddered mentally, "but had to endure it on live television. Australia bowled brilliantly, no doubt, but that didn't make what happened easier to swallow.
"In Melbourne, India were outstanding. It has to be one of our greatest wins of all time, what a fabulous innings by the captain," he continued. "To play an innings of that calibre in these circumstances, under pressure and as the stand-in skipper, it's one of the greatest centuries in Test cricket. Just beautiful. His partnership with [Ravindra] Jadeja took the team to a huge lead, negating the possibility of a tricky fourth-innings chase.
"I was pleasantly surprised at the application shown by Jadeja. He has been in great form in white-ball cricket but this was a different ball game, and he was unflustered. I feel Rahane's calmness rubbed off on his teammates. Rishabh Pant too played a lovely hand, providing the impetus required at the time. I know he only made 29, but those were crucial not just in magnitude but for the positivity, the impact." Rahane's bowling changes and field placements came in for high praise, as did the all-round bowling effort. "[R] Ashwin has Steven Smith in a bind. For Smith to admit that no spinner has put him under greater pressure than Ashwin is a surprising confession at this stage of the series," Viswanath pointed out. "Knowing Ashwin, I am sure he won't relax the stranglehold."
Turning the clock back, Viswanath said the class of 1977 had been stung at defeats in the first two Tests against an under-strength Aussie side led by the recalled Bob Simpson. "We had to win in Melbourne to stay alive in the series. Chandra [BS Chandrasekhar], the ultimate match-winner, was unplayable in that game, got six wickets in each innings, the Aussies didn't have a clue," he chortled. "And the next time [in 1981], Kapil [Dev] did in the second innings what Chandra had, shrugging off an injury on the final day with a decisive burst. It just so happened that I got runs in both matches," he said.
There is a feel-good to returning to a ground abroad where one has tasted success, he agreed. "Like Sunil [Gavaskar] and Port of Spain. He debuted there, made tons of runs, he'd love to roll that pitch and carry it with him. The MCG is like that for the Indian team, from a mindset and security perspective. Past success doesn't come with any guarantees, but for sheer confidence, there is no better tonic."
