Former India wicketkeeper, Farokh Engineer believes that India’s victory in the Melbourne in the second Test against Australia is of a greater significance as the World Cup triumph.
Engineer’s comments come in relation to the circumstances in which the Indian team won the Boxing Day Test: most of the players in the squad have left home since the IPL; India were without their 4 first-choice players – captain Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, and Mohammed Shami – and moreover, the team was coming on the back of their most humiliating batting performance – 36 all out – in Test cricket.
Hence, Engineer opines that India’s 8-wicket series-levelling victory in the Boxing Day Test stands right next to some of the greatest accomplishments of the Indian cricket teams in the past. Kapil Dev led the underdog Indian team to its maiden World Cup title in 1983; MS Dhoni in 2011 did the same.
“It’s a great way to come back. It would be right up there with India winning the World Cup, with India winning the Test at The Oval (1971) where I was primarily responsible, along with Chandra (Bhagwat Chandrasekhar),” Farokh Engineer told SportsKeeda.
Hats off to Ajinkya Rahane: Farokh Engineer
The 82-year-old is also mightily impressed by the captaincy of Ajinkya Rahane – his team selections, bowling changes, Man of the Match performance with the bat – and for his leadership to pull the team out from the ruins of ’36 all-out’ in Adelaide to level the series in Melbourne.
“Great recovery for our boys in Australia. Hats off to Ajinkya Rahane and the whole team. Ajinkya Rahane led from the front. He showed them, if I can do it, you guys can do it too. He’s from the backstreets of Mumbai, Shivaji Park. And, he’s a fighter. I have always admired him as a fighter. Fantastic win for India,” Engineer added.
“(Yes) we got out for 36. The Australian bowlers bowled on a perfect line spot, but they were waiting for our batsmen to make mistakes. And, we kept on making the same mistakes. We weren’t coming right behind the ball as we did when we won the match,” feels the former batsman.
The action moves to Sydney – Indian team is strengthened by the addition of Rohit Sharma while the hosts will hope to bat better in the third Test as David Warner returns to the eleven.
