
Team India's heroics in Australia will be remembered for a long time in the world of cricket. India, without many of its star players, managed to end Australia's streak at the Gabba. Rishabh Pant's stellar performance, not only breached the fortress but also won an important series for India.
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Australian batsman Usman Khwaja, who did not feature in the series, said that he followed the series closely and felt that India outplayed Australians in their home conditions and deserved to win.
"I don’t know. I just think that in Sydney also we had a game we probably should have won, could have won. Our bowlers couldn’t finish it off unfortunately and the same thing happened in Gabba. I thought we had enough runs to defend but if a team chases that many runs on the final day, it doesn’t matter where it is, they deserve to win. Because it’s not easy to chase runs in the fourth innings, no matter where you are in the world," Khawaja told Cricwick.
"I think at the end of the day, India were the better team. They played our fast bowlers better than we thought they would. They blunted our pace attack, they blunted Nathan Lyon and our bowlers couldn’t finish it off. It’s as simple as that. That can happen. That’s the beauty of cricket. I actually thought that was really good for the game."
Team India had begun their Test series with a catastrophic loss against Australia as Virat and Co. were bundled out on record-low 36 runs in Adelaide. With Virat Kohli leaving his team for paternity leave, it was an uphill task for Team India under the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane to revive the series.
However, Team India won the very next Test match in Melbourne and equalled the series. Sydney was a big challenge for Team India, as the visitors survived the Test after R Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari held on to the strike to help Rahane and Co. draw the match.
In the series decider, India were set to face Australians in the fort of Gabba. India won the match, after Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant's gritty knocks and sealed the series, increasing their chances to book a berth in the World Test Championship finals.
"In Australia there was a bit of outrage because obviously, we hadn’t lost in 13 years. But that’s the beauty of the game. What’s the point if you can’t lose somewhere? Both teams can win, right? Obviously, it was disappointing as an Australian fan but it was great for the game. To do it at the Gabba, no one ever expected it, particularly from India," Khawaja added.