Gill and Siraj Living Their Father's Dreams

The Boxing day Test at the MCG started with India lagging 0-1 in the 4-match Test series after the loss in the first Test at Adelaide.

Virat Kohli, who top-scored in the first innings at Adelaide, flew home after the first Test. Mohammed Shami, India's premier Test match bowler, was injured. Ishant Sharma was still nursing the injury. India was in a big hole going into this match.

They had shaky openers, a middle-order without the spine, no all-rounder, a tail the seemed determined to add very little to the team's total, an inexperienced bowling attack, and as it stood, an inexperienced leader as well going into the second Test. Teams have lost in Australia with much better odds.

Surely, India had no chance.

However, this is precisely when players without any baggage can induce a sense of confidence in a team that that dearly needs some, especially after their worst batting show in the Test history.

That's what debutants Shubman Gill and Mohammad Siraj did at Melbourne.

While Gill was selected in place of Prithvi Shaw, who seemed found out in both innings at Adelaide, the inclusion of Siraj was mainly due to injury to Mohammed Shami.

Anand Anil, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Shubman Gill, the 21 old cricketer, and under-19 World Cup superstar averaged close to 70 in the first-class cricket before getting selected into the Indian team. Many touted him to be the next big thing in Indian cricket. A player to watch out for. The next great Indian batsman. In sports, reputation doesn't mean a thing, only performance matters. That's what Gill did at Melbourne from the word go.

In a match where batsmen's strike rates rarely crossed 40, Gill imposed himself by striking at a rate close to 70 in the first inning (45 runs of 65 balls) and close to 100 in India's second innings (35 not-out off 26 balls) while chasing a modest 70 in the fourth innings.

Gill took the attack to the opposition while everyone else was playing the waiting game. He was selected to prove his metal. He successfully did it against the most potent bowling attack in the World at their home. A new star has arrived for Indian cricket fans!

CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=176737

On the other hand, Mohammed Siraj had to wait for his first wicket until 50th over into Australia's first innings. Funnily enough, it was Gill who caught Labuschagne at backward square leg to help Siraj get his maiden Test wicket. Siraj averages under 25 in first-class cricket, and his economy is close to 3 an over.

He was a charged bowler in the Melbourne test as he picked up 5 wickets at an average of 15.40 and an economy of just 2.10 per over.

When there was help, he went for wickets. When containing the opposition scoring rate was the need of the hour, he bowled dot balls relentlessly.

The original uploader was Dmmaus at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons

In a sense, Gill and Siraj represent the two parts of India. While Gill belongs to a well to do family, Siraj belongs to a family where making ends meet was a challenge until a few days ago. Shubman Gill was coached by his father since childhood.

On the other hand, Mohammed Siraj is a self-made bowler who unfortunately lost his father in the month of November. Both played for the same country, for the same cause, with the same zeal. Both emerged triumphantly, and with them, India cruised to an unlikely victory. Both have surely made their father's proud beyond anything!

The famous win in the Boxing day Test match was also impossible without the stand-in skipper's contribution - Ajinkya Rahane. Still, the freshness, confidence, and fearlessness brought to the team by Gill and Siraj made a lot of difference in the end.

In every sense, it was a complete Indian victory at their most successful away venue, and the two debutants had a lot to do with it.

Siraj and Gill - We salute your love for the sport and can’t wait to see what the future holds for you two superstars!