India’s historic Gabba win and the many demons it exorcised

India’s Historic Gabba Win And The Many
Demons It Exorcised
One fan particularly remembers the last day of the India-Australia friendly at Chepauk in 1986, when
Ravi Shastri played a central role.
India’s Historic Gabba Win
It was September 22, 1986. If Chennai had had four seasons, it would have been a beautiful and
pleasant fall day. But since Chennai only has one season, it was just another hot and humid day. It was
the fifth and final day of the first test between India and Australia. The day before, Australia still reached
170 points with the loss of five wickets. With a 347 lead at the time, the Australians had to keep beating
for a session or two to build a 400+ lead before considering an explanation. Thus, a dismal draw was the
expected result of the game. A crowd of only 10,000, a modest turnout by all accounts in Chepauk,
appeared to watch the negotiations.
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However, things changed when the game started on day five. Allan Border, the Australian captain,
decided to spice up the process by putting pressure on a result which he believed was the only one - a
victory for Australia. Australia declared their innings with an overnight score of 170 for 5 and set a
difficult 348 goal for India to win. The likelihood of an Indian victory at this point seemed like a fantasy.
But when Srikkanth quickly started in his usual flamboyant style, and later Sunil Gavaskar and Mohinder
Amarnath forged a solid partnership that hit 150 races with the loss of just one wicket, hope swelled.
The same goes for the crowd in Chepauk. Elsewhere, Indians have sought excuses to sit in front of a TV
and catch a glimpse of the live action.

At the start of the final 20 mandatory overs, India sailed comfortably with less than a run for a ball and
seven wickets in hand. It looks like the first order came with the decision to win as requested by Indian
captain Kapil Dev. With a solid 90 shot from Gavaskar, a steady 51 from Amarnath and an elegant 42
from Azharuddin, everything went according to plan for India. And then suddenly two quick wickets at
the wily Greg Matthews got India in trouble. Ravi Shastri walked in, who was in a foolproof zone at the
time. With a mature head on his young shoulders, he has been touted as the next big thing in Indian
cricket. He assessed the situation and even when the doors fell on the other side, he remained calm and
knocked reasonably depending on the situation.
“I Looked Good Because Everyone Contributed,” Says Ajinkya Rahane After Gabba
Victory
It only took 4 points for India to win. And Australians just a wicket. Shastri meanwhile fought with
Maninder Singh, the last man in India. Matthews, who had previously won the gold in the heats, was put
into action for the final. With Shastri on strike, India was only one stroke away from an epic victory.
Shastri defended the first ball and fought for two points from the second ball, we were now 2 races
away and the Australians at a wicket without giving a race to win.
Well, what Shastri did with the upcoming prom would be the subject of intense debate for days,
months, and years together. He played a cricket shot and started for a single, which made Tailender
Maninder the hit. This brought the scores to a level. A run in the next three balls would have given India
a historic victory. A wicket of the next 3 balls would equalize the match. And that's exactly what
happened. Maninder managed to defend the fourth ball but was coiled on his pads on the next ball and
referee Vikram Raju raised his dreaded finger to hand it over. Even when Maninder stood up and tried
to indicate that it was a bat and a pillow, it was over. History was made when the match ended in a
draw, only for the second time in the annals of cricket testing.
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After the game, I remember the heated discussions in homes, offices, colleges, local trains, the media,
etc. The whole point is, “Did Ravi Shastri do the right thing by taking this single? Shouldn't he have held
the strike instead and earned the two winning points? “Shastri himself vigorously defended his decision
and said that with this single he made sure that India 'doesn't lose'.
For Australians, the result has been a
huge relief. If they had lost the game,
they would have been roasted at
home after saying they wanted to
win. A tie was acceptable middle
ground. For the Indians, the draw was
not a defeat in a technical sense, but a
chance to win that was lost. This
friendly match, which we could have
won, remained a demon that was not
exorcised. Well, see you last week.

Indians like me, belonging to the Doordarshan generation, used to prioritize 'not losing' over 'winning'.
And not without reason. Who can forget the agony we went through when we lost 38 points against the
West Indies and obtained 120 points in the Bridgetown test in March 1997? Or the collective depression
the country went through after losing nearly 16 times to Pakistan in Chepauk in January 1999.
Even on the last day of Gabba's test, the mood of the majority of Indians was no doubt, even if we shoot
the match, we can keep the Border Gavaskar trophy. It was such a revelation that the current
generation of cricketers like Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Washington Sundar were not happy with a
draw and were aiming for victory. And what a victory it was.
ICC Test Team Rankings: Historic win at The Gabba takes India to second place
And Gabba's victory follows a hard-fought draw in Sydney's previous test, which in itself was
unpredictable. For Ravi Shastri, who happens to be the coach of the Indian team, victory in Brisbane
must have ended Chepauk's friendly. Shastri managed to have the final say by getting the team to be
fearless and aim for victory instead of settling for a draw and ultimately getting the same in a test.
Much has been said and written about India's historic victory at the Gabba. Suffice it to say that one
victory was able to drive the demons out of that 1986 "Match Test Tied" against the Australians. Wait a
minute. Suddenly Gabba's victory was able to drive all those demons out of the Indian team's tight
mistakes in large-scale test cricket. Period.