Experts saw what had happened during the first Test match at the Adelaide Oval. After watching India getting battered and bruised at the hands of Australia, they said 0-4 would be the end result of the Border Gavaskar Trophy series.
After Indian regular captain, Virat Kohli left the team after the first Test, they said India has no chance of turning the series around. Kohli took the flight to India in order to attend the arrival of his first child. The Indian team management decided to appoint Ajinkya Rahane as stand-in captain.
They said India has no chance of survival after Australia decided to bat first in Melbourne. They also said India are finished in the wake of a batting failure in Sydney. Even after India leveled the series at MCG, they said they would lose the next two Tests.
The Indians, however, settled for a pulsating draw at SCG. With Gabba considered as Australia’s fortress for their impressive record of being unbeaten in Tests for 32 years, they said India can neither pose a threat nor confront the hosts. But Indians put up a great fight throughout the game.
Even after giving absolutely everything as the game stretched till the final day of the Border Gavaskar Trophy and with plenty of interesting things in store, some naysayers still said India has no chance of beating the hosts on judgment day with battered bodies.
Nonetheless, Team India defied all the odds and touched the pinnacle of success as they breached the fortress with a bunch of experience and youth. India beat Australia by 3 wickets in Brisbane and secured their second successive Test series win on Australian soil and retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Ajinkya Rahane gets grand welcome
After the end of a memorable tour, Indian players took the flight to reach their respective hometowns. Meanwhile, the Indian cricketers’ families planned for something special for them upon their arrival.
Earlier, T Natarajan got a hero’s welcome in his hometown of Salem where he where fans took him in a horse-drawn chariot for 2 kilometers in his native village Chinnappampatti in Salem district. The video of the same spread like wildfire on social media.
On the other hand, India’s stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane also got a warm reception at home. Since Rahane stunned the Indian cricket fraternity by leading the team ever so well and remained unbeaten as captain for 5 matches (4 wins, 1 draw), his neighbors also decided to surprise him by planning for a small bash.
Rahane refused to cut the cake
The neighbors arranged for a delicious cake for him with an edible Kangaroo placed on top of it. When he was about to cut the cake, he observed the Kangaroo for a couple of seconds and refused to cut the cake.
Rahane also showed class off the field and the entire incident was broadcasted on the Marathi news channel, TV9 Marathi. It is cognizance of the fact that the Kangaroo is the national animal of Australia. The Australian national cricket team is also called The Kangaroos.
Since India beat Australia, the neighbors decided to come up with a unique cake with Kangaroo on top but it would not have been nice had Rahane planned to cut the cake. The video went viral on the internet.
