‘Young India has shown the way’, Gavaskar lauds contribution of youngsters in 'magical' series win against Australia

Former Indian captain and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar was mesmerized with the way Ajinkya Rahane-led India defied all the odds to retain the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Tuesday. In the absence of senior players, youngsters came forward and helped India outclass the Aussies by three wickets in the fourth Test in Brisbane to win the series Down Under 2-1.

Lauding the gumption shown by the Indian players, Gavaskar stated that a young India has scripted history on the Australian soil.

“Absolutely, this is magic, magical moment for Indian cricket. They were not prepared to just save the game. They were wanting to go out and finish the tour in a blaze of glory. Young India has done it,” Gavaskar told Sony Ten 3 after the match.

“Young India has shown the way. Young India is showing that they are not afraid. What a win, what a magnificent win,” he added.

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Gavaskar was effusive in his praise for the entire group for their lion-heart effort, especially after the team missed seniors like Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the last match due to injuries.

“It starts with Shubman Gill playing such a wonderful innings this morning. Then the old warhorse Cheteshwar Pujara making sure that there were no inroads made by the Australians in that middle session.

“And then Rishabh Pant coming in, once again promoted up the order at No.5 by this managing to Rahane, who has an unbeaten record now. Two out of the three Test matches here he has captained he has won.

“And before that he has captained India twice, he has won both those Test matches. Natarajan making his debut, what a debut it has been. Prithvi also. But what a tour, what a win,” he said.

The batting legend opined that the performances of youngsters in the fourth Test prove that Indian cricket is in safe hands.

In the absence of big players, India found new stars such as Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj and Rishabh Pant among others who surprised the Aussies with their never-say-die spirit.

“This series win is even more magnificent because this time Australia had their full-strength team. The ball was turning on the fifth day. Yesterday also some balls kicked off, some kept low when Australia were batting. So, to score on that pitch, and with such ease, the last two-three wickets fell while trying to bring the target down,” Gavaskar said.

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“It felt really nice because this young Indian team has shown something different. In this win, to whom will you give credit? Mohammed Siraj took five wickets, Washington Sundar took three, Natarajan three. Then the way Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur batted. Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, the way they batted. After seeing all this, and they are all young players, I think the future of the Indian cricket is so bright that we can have great anticipation for every upcoming series,” said Gavaskar.

(With PTI inputs)