After India’s terrible loss in Adelaide in the first of the four-match Test series, a lot of experts had written them off, believing the mighty Australian side would wipe the floor in the remaining matches. Among those doomsayers was former England captain Michael Vaughan, who predicted that there was no chance that India would recover from that loss and would go on to lose the series 4-nil. It sounded like a reasonable statement to make, given the Indian team had just posted their lowest ever total in a Test match.
What followed was something beyond anyone’s imagination. Despite the absence of the skipper and star batsman Virat Kohli, team India did the impossible as it went on to win two of the next three matches to clinch the series. They even breached the Gabba fortress where the Aussies hadn’t lost in 32 years.In hindsight, Vaughan feels he may have underestimated the spirit of the Indians. He said that he had good reasons to predict that Australia would take the series 4-0.
“India looked shot after (Adelaide Test) match and with all the selection issues they had, even India’s most one-eyed fans would not have predicted a comeback. Well, they have left me with egg on my face,” Vaughan wrote for The Telegraph.
Vaughan admitted being proved wrong and that he did not mind, considering the incredible performance India put up.
“When you have cricket that good, and remarkable performances from rookie players such as Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur, I have no problem in being proved wrong,” wrote Vaughan.
Vaughan believes that the outcome will certainly pose serious questions for Australia and that the English side could exploit their vulnerabilities, which they didn’t even know existed a month ago, when they meet for the Ashes series.
Vaughan praised stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane for his role in India’s victory. He said that he always felt that captains are often overrated and that this series proved that, when despite Virat Kohli’s absence and Rahane taking over “India didn’t miss a beat”.
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