‘No one ever expected it’ – Usman Khawaja on Team India’s win at Gabba

It’s been over five months since India’s epic series win Down Under earlier this year. The 2-1 series win against Australia was one of the finest victories achieved by team India considering the circumstances which they had to undergo after losing a majority of their first-choice players to injuries and personal reasons.

After regular skipper Virat Kohli’s departure, Ajinkya Rahane stepped up ably and guided the youngsters Shubman Gill and Washington Sundar to give them their best performance for the team. In the last Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, India had an inexperienced Mohammed Siraj leading the attack. Young Gill stepped as an opener and scored 91 before maverick wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant finished the match with a blazing unbeaten 89.

Usman Khawaja too was as impressed by India’s efforts as everyone else. The southpaw too didn’t expect the Men in Blue to win at the Gabba and the series.

“I don’t know. I just think that in Sydney also we had a game we probably should have won, could have won. Our bowlers couldn’t finish it off unfortunately and the same thing happened in Gabba. I thought we had enough runs to defend but if a team chases that many runs on the final day, it doesn’t matter where it is, they deserve to win. Because it’s not easy to chase runs in the fourth innings, no matter where you are in the world,” Khawaja told CricWick.

Usman Khawaja on India’s epic series win Down Under

Khawaja also felt India was the better team and they executed their plans better. The Indian batters made the Australian bowlers bowl to their strengths. He went on to add that no one expected India’s victory at the Gabba.

“I think at the end of the day, India was the better team. They played our fast bowlers better than we thought they would. They blunted our pace attack, they blunted Nathan Lyon and our bowlers couldn’t finish it off. It’s as simple as that. That can happen. That’s the beauty of cricket. I actually thought that was really good for the game.”

“In Australia, there was a bit of outrage because obviously, we hadn’t lost in 13 years. But that’s the beauty of the game. What’s the point if you can’t lose somewhere? Both teams can win, right? Obviously, it was disappointing as an Australian fan but it was great for the game. To do it at the Gabba, no one ever expected it, particularly from India,” Khawaja added.

The way India bounced back after being shot out for just 36 in the first Test, showed to the world how over the years they have grown as a team.