Back in 2003 at Adelaide, India’s no 3 batsman Rahul Dravid had starred in India’s 4-wicket win over Australia, scoring a double-century (233) and half-century (72*) in his two innings. Exactly 15 years later, at the same venue, Cheteshwar Pujara – also India’s no 3 batsman – put up match-winning knocks of 123 and 71 in India’s 31-run over Australia. Both cricketers won the man of the match awards.
The similarities were so uncanny that Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar couldn’t help but be reminded of that Test in 2003, as India got off to a historic start to their Test series Down Under on Monday, 10 December.
Even BCCI’s acting president CK Khanna commented on the similarities of the two wins.
Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman and Harbhajan Singh also lauded the team’s performance, that gave them a 1-0 lead in their four-match series.
Former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson congratulated team India while former England skipper Michael Vaughan said Virat’s men were the ‘deserved winners’.