Inside out | Bruised Ashwin, limping Vihari walk the talk on rising through adversities
At the end of the fourth day’s play, Ravichandran Ashwin was India's man to address the press after an eventful day in the field. The team had many issues at hands to combat and the acts of racial abuse hurled at Mohammed Siraj when the pacer was stationed at the fin leg position was at the top of the agenda for Ashwin who had played an instrumental role in the team management's decision to report the issues to match officials.
However, the off-spinner had made two interesting claims in the press conference. First, it was about the pitch and he said the SCG surface was playing well and second, he said that the Indian team has the habit of bringing their best game forward when they get surrounded by ‘adversities.’
Indeed, India were surrounded by many challenges leading up to the fifth and final day of the SCG Test that was to test all of the qualities Ashwin had boasted about in the press conference a day before. They were already without their openers, one of whom had thrown his wicket away after a rollicking start and two critical elements of the team’s batting lower down the order—Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja had copped blows on their hands. Pant was certain to bat, while Jadeja was to bat only if the situation demanded India to risk him with his dislocated thumb.
Experts were echoing that the unbeaten batsmen in captain Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara had to bat till the lunch interval on the last day for India to have any chance of salvaging the draw out of this game. They said that the hosts needed just two wickets and they were among the ‘tails’ of the batting line up that would not last long enough against the Cummins and co.
If ‘adversities’ were not bad enough for the battered and bruised team leading up to the final day, the dismissal of Rahane just at the start of the play was possibly a nail in the coffin.
Then the team management backed an injured Pant who was nursing severe pain in his left arm but the team management went for him in search of shifting the pressure on the Australian team. It was one of the most probable signs of a team which was not toothless in the face of adversities, and Ashwin's clarion calls were being heard.
But a target of 407 runs and the need of batting more than 130 overs needed more heroes than the batsmen who were touted saviours by the pundits.
By the time Ashwin got the opportunity to bat as Jadeja was shifted down the order, India’s all hopes of winning the game were shattered with the departure of a swashbuckling Pant as well as their efforts of saving the game to take the battle to Brisbane was in serious jeopardy after Pujara was bowled neck and crop by a more Josh Hazlewood who remarkably showed more resilience than Pujara.
To make the matter worse for India, the beleaguered batsman—Hanuma Vihari who was having a pathetic game until that phase of the game, had already injured his hamstring and there was no chance that he could be mobile in his crease and during running.
Both Ashwin and Vihari were quick to realise that the win was out of the equation for India with literally no ‘fit’ man left behind them who can fight the long and hard battle that the Australians were set to wage against them. India had a mountain of more than 40 overs to climb or more than three hours of play to survive in order to get to Brisbane with a levelled series, and odds were heavily stacked against them.
The pace trio of Cummins, Starc, and Hazlewood came running at them with all of their might as they have been doing throughout the series, but the resoluteness the duo showed paved the way for themselves as the captain Tim Paine started losing his nerve. They tested both the inside and outside edges of their bats and kept examining them on either side of the wicket, but Ashwin and Vihari were unwilling to give an inch.
In the meantime, Ashwin copped a lot of blows on his body, after the Australians started testing the height of his throat, but Ashwin was tall enough, both in his height and mental toughness to not throw his hard hands at the balls rising on him to avoid popping a catch to many close infielders.
Ashwin really looked hurt and his rubs must be hurting after dealing innumerable blows every second over with accurate shot stuff aimed at him, but Ashwin exemplified all the characters of himself and his team he was referring to in the last press conference.
Ashwin provided a sort of masterclass on how to play Lyon as he was quick on his feet and equally decisive on when he had to go forward and stay back in the crease. Every time he came forward with his bigger stride or lunged forward, he made sure the ball was right under his eyes while defending with the bat in front of his pad to avoid any chance of edging the ball to fielders stationed by Tim Paine to choke him and test his trust on his own defence.
On the other hand, Vihari batted like the batsman who was touted as one to watch out for by none other than Virat Kohli before he left Australia to return home. Losing his hamstring and running capabilities did not hinder him from coming behind the line of the ball against pacers while he tried to negotiate off-spinner Nathan Lyon from the backfoot.
Both of them batted with exemplary guts and carried India to the finishing line of saving the game before the final phase of the last drama was to begin. Australians were getting impatient and it showed up on Paine when he started reminding Ashwin of the venue of the next match which is renowned of its extra pace and bounce. Paine tried to dislodge Ashwin from his game, but he is not a character who gives up on fighting and replies with the warning that if Paine manages to come to India on the next tour, his team would make sure it would be the last series for the Australian captain.
But, the examination was still on and both Ashwin and Vihari had to carry on with their grit with the hosts getting a sniff with a hint of reverse swing. Paine called back his best exponent of reverse swing in Starc and on cue, the left armer produced a delivery that induced an outside edge of Vihari, who was lured into playing a shot due to the angle created by Starc coming in from around the stumps. Paine was showing signs of losing his cool and it proved costly for Australia and embarrassing for him as he dived across David Warner at the first slip in a sign of too much eagerness but only to squander the chance and provide India with much-needed relief.
In the end, Paine was forced to shake hands when he was left with only six balls and India were holding their fort with five wickets in hand. The efforts put in by the Indian batsmen was truly heroic and it was only fitting that the effort was the longest in the fourth inning of a Test match since 1979.
India have a lot of pondering to do on the playing XI for the final Test after injuries to so many players and it would be fair to say that the hosts dominated the much of the proceedings of the SCG Test, but India showed that it is not any lesser team than them that too in the Australians’ own backyard. Maybe, it was meant for Ashwin to have a talk and then walk on it the next day because he loves to talk about his game and then bringing all his offerings on the field, but this time at the SCG, Ashwin had to walk his talk with the bat in his hand, and it would be fair to say that he walked with utmost sincerity and resolve.
 "Mayank Kumar")
