India, after suffering an eight-wicket defeat in the first Test in Adelaide, bounced back in style to hand an eight-wicket defeat to Australia in the second Test, which ended at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday.
Fittingly, captain Ajinkya Rahane was the one to hit the winning runs at the MCG. With India down in the dumps after the hammering in the first Test, Rahane did remarkably well to lead the team from the front and score an all-important century in the first innings. He was declared the player of the match for his outstanding performance.
Watch: Ajinkya Rahane leads from the front as India beat Australia by 8 wickets in Melbourne Test
India were in trouble after being bowled out for 36, their lowest total in Test cricket, to lose the Test in Adelaide. To make matters worse, regular skipper Virat Kohli headed home for the birth of his first child and premier pacer Mohammed Shami was ruled out of the series due to an injury.
The visitors, however, were brave and made four changes for the Melbourne Test, with Shubman Gill (debut), Mohammed Siraj (debut), Ravindra Jadeja and Rishabh Pant coming into the side. And as things turned out, all four of these players made valuable contributions to the win.
Data check: With brilliant series-levelling win, India make it another memorable Melbourne match
Senior bowlers Ashwin Ravichandran (five wickets in the match) and Jasprit Bumrah (six wickets in the match) were the other big performers for India.
Twitter was full of praise for the Indian team for showing great character in turning things around Down Under.
Here are some reactions:
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