SYDNEY, Jan 11: Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin battled pain and a hostile Australian bowling attack with their ‘blockathon’ – the largely extinct art of Test-saving batsmanship – to snatch a remarkable draw for India after Rishabh Pant raised visions of an improbable win here on Monday.
In a titanic struggle befitting of the rare occasion, Australia went from likely winners of the third Test, to potential victims of one of the greatest Test run chases of all-time, to settling for a draw at the SCG, leaving the Border-Gavaskar series tied 1-1.
Australia looked certain to win at the start of Monday but India defied all odds by batting for 131 overs to reach stumps on 334 for 5, 73 runs short of the win. But the Indian team which has turned into a ‘mini-hospital’ would be walking away with a lot of pride.
Chasing a herculean target of 407, Pant and the ever-steady Cheteshwar Pujara produced an amazing 148-run stand. The Indians put up a proper fight in adverse circumstances already soured by racist chants and abuses from the crowd here during the course of the game.
Pant’s innings will be remembered for a long time but none can forget that Ashwin and Vihari, battling a hamstring injury, put their bodies on line to save a game which could have been lost in a jiffy after their two best batsmen were gone on the day.
“Our talk coming this morning was to show character and fight till the end. Not to think about the result. Really happy with the way we fought especially today but also throughout the game,” skipper Ajinkya Rahane said at the post-match presentation.
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon threw everything they had, peppering them with short balls, hitting the patches with a few jumping from the spot.
The Vihari-Ashwin duo, in 42.4 overs, scraped their way for a 62-run stand, which certainly would have made Rahul Dravid proud on his 48th birthday.
Vihari hobbled with a torn hamstring but defended dourly, Ashwin got hit on the ribs but carried on manfully while also engaging in some chatter with Tim Paine and close-in fielders.
Catches landed in no man’s land and that was the slice of luck they needed. When Marnus Labuschagne was brought in the 112th over, one knew that they had done their job.
The great Neville Cardus had once said “Scoreboard is an ass” and many years down the line, it probably won’t highlight what Vihari and Ashwin endured and what they did for the team.
The dressing room will however always know that and respect them for the bruised ribs and torn hamstring.
Perhaps, it was the best way to honour the brilliance of Pant and the assuredness of Pujara. So much so that Ravindra Jadeja, with his broken thumb, was all gloved up and ready to go in if need be.
“Everyone has chipped in but credit to these two (Vihari and Ashwin) guys who batted over two-and-half hours till the end,” Rahane said.
“We were actually counting down deliveries in the last five-six overs,” added Rahane. (Agencies)
