SYDNEY (Australia): Skipper Ajinkya Rahane hailed his team’s character after India fought bravely to press for a draw in the third Test against Australia on Monday.
“This was as good as winning a Test match,” said Rahane. “When you come abroad and play a match like this, it was really special, as good as a victory.”
Few gave India much chance when they began the day at 98-2, having lost openers Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma the previous afternoon and facing one of the world’s leading attacks.
And when Rahane fell without adding to his overnight four in Monday’s second over, the odds were even worse with another 309 runs needed to win.
But they battled hard as Rishabh Pant smashed a high-class 97 and the stoic Cheteshwar Pujara ground out 77.
When that pair fell Hanuma Vihari, nursing a hamstring injury, survived 161 balls for 23 runs and Ravi Ashwin, who had treatment on his ribs, made 39.
The pair faced 256 balls and scored just 62 runs, helping steer India to 334 for five and safety at the close. The four-Test series stands at 1-1 ahead of the final game in Brisbane.
“Our talk coming into this morning was to show character and fight till the end. Not to think about the result,” said Rahane.
“So really happy with the way we fought especially today but also throughout the game, even in the first innings when Australia were 200 for two and getting them all out for 338 was really good.”
Tough one to swallow: Paine
Australia captain Tim Paine said his team had yet to play to its full potential after winning in Adelaide by eight wickets before India clinched victory in Melbourne by the same margin.
“We didn’t play our best in Adelaide or Melbourne to be fair, I thought in this Test match we showed glimpses of our best,” he said. “I thought we’d certainly created enough chances to win the game, and we did, so it’s a tough one to swallow, particularly given my situation.”
The result means the series remains 1-1 heading into the final Test at Brisbane later this week, a ground where Australia have a formidable record.
“We are certainly back closer to where we want to be as a batting group… I think there were some positive signs, and our bowlers tried their hearts out and created plenty of chances,” added Paine.
