Team India’s upcoming five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in November promises a thrilling battle, especially as the visitors aim to achieve an unprecedented hat-trick of Test series victories on Australian soil. Having won the previous two series in 2018/19 and 2020/21 by a margin of 2-1, India’s journey Down Under has been historic. This time, however, the challenge grows significantly with five Tests, as opposed to four in the previous outings.
The 2020/21 series is still etched in the minds of cricket fans, not only for India’s remarkable victory but for the indomitable spirit the team displayed. Virat Kohli, India’s captain at the time, had left the series after the first Test. The team then faced injury setbacks with several key players like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and KL Rahul, among others, being ruled out throughout the series.
Despite these adversities and after the shocking collapse in the Adelaide Test where India registered their lowest-ever Test score of 36, the side showcased incredible grit to turn things around and script one of cricket’s most memorable comebacks.
In the aftermath of the crushing Adelaide loss, morale in the Indian camp was at an all-time low, but former head coach Ravi Shastri played a pivotal role in restoring belief within the squad. Ravichandran Ashwin, one of India’s key players in that series, has now revealed how attempted to revive the mood in the camp.
Ashwin revealed that Shastri organised a dinner for the side on the same day it lost the game, switched on the karaoke during the evening and began to sing.
“We weren’t thinking of a series win at all, because the whole team atmosphere was down. But in the evening, Ravi bhai organised a team dinner, and he sang as well. He switched on the karaoke and started singing. Slowly, others followed too,” Ashwin told journalist Vimal Kumar on YouTube.
“Virat was leaving the team. So, our intention was to be positive, go to Melbourne and win. We didn’t think of series, we kept small targets, we took each match individually after that.”
India’s remaining Tests at WTC
Team India will play in 10 Tests to determine whether they will keep their top spot and qualify for the final of the World Test Championship next year. The side will return to action on September 19 when it faces Bangladesh in the first Test in Chennai. Following the series, New Zealand will tour India for five Tests.
