Questions have emerged over India’s jubilant celebrations yesterday evening at the Gabba, as they narrowly avoided the dreaded follow-on.
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Indian tailenders Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah put on 47 runs for the final wicket to crucially take India’s deficit below 200, and denying Australian captain Pat Cummins the chance to force them to follow-on for the first time in over 13 years.
Deep and Bumrah’s defiance late on Day 4 amid horrid Brisbane weather has absolutely to be admired, despite Australia’s depleted bowling attack after star seamer Josh Hazlewood went down with a calf strain.
As a slash through gully from Deep went over the top of Nathan McSweeney at gully and away for four to take the deficit below 200, the Indian dressing room broke out in somewhat animated celebrations as their chances of losing the match diminished beyond reversal.
It meant that Australia would then need to still bowl India out in their first innings, and then bat the tourists out of the game (at a very quick rate) on day five, before bowling them all out well inside a day — all without Hazlewood.
And while Australia perhaps let an already unlikely chance of victory slip beyond doubt, celebrations on their opponents’ balcony and dressing room was unexpected in the opinion of former Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.
“That reaction surprised me; all they did was pass the follow-on, they’re still a long way behind in the game,” Haddin revealed on Fox Cricket amid a Day 5 rain break.
“That would’ve fired me up actually, and I would’ve been saying in the change rooms: ‘Let’s get these guys out there to have a bat (in the second innings).”
“I remember that’s what England said in 2005 when we played it out for the draw, when there was a bit of a celebration from us,” Australian modern-day great Brett Lee added.
And during the same rain break, veteran star spinner Nathan Lyon was quizzed on the scenes — and was left with a similar viewpoint to his former teammate Haddin.
“A few of us as well after play, we spoke about that and we were surprised by some of their reactions, especially the way we’ve gone about this game and I think we can be extremely proud about the way we’ve gone about it,” Lyon told Fox Cricket.
“We’ve driven this game and to get it into the position we find ourselves in at the moment, we feel like that’s a pretty big message to us that they’re feeling confident in where they are in the game. But I honestly feel like there’s a lot of cricket left in this game.”
Only four times in Test history has a side ever won after being forced into following on, and just twice this century — India against Australia at Eden Gardens in 2001, and more recently, New Zealand against England at Wellington in early 2023.
India was eventually bowled out early on Day 5, trailing by 185 runs before rain and lightning prevented Australia from batting until the second session.