Gautam Gambhir's Bold Decisions Pay Rich Dividend as Harshit, Nitish and KL Rahul Flourish. Read

India turned the opening Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy on its head after posing a daunting target of 534 runs for Australia, courtesy of brilliant batting spells by Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. The third day ended on a high for Team India after taking three crucial wickets in a span of just 4.2 overs and the visitors are now on course to drawing first blood in the five-match series.

India have demonstrated grit and resilience after their recent home series against New Zealand, taking the upper hand against Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy on Sunday. Despite being under some pressure, Indian Head Coach Gautam Gambhir has backed his players throughout in the buildup to the series.

There were questions on Virat Kohli’s consistency with the bat and his run of form ahead of the series. However, Gambhir backed the veteran throughout and Kohli repaid the faith shown in him. He scored an impressive unbeaten century, the 30th Test century of his career, and helped India pose a mammoth target for the Aussies to chase. India declared after Kohli completed his unbeaten ton in 143 deliveries, and he was seen hugging his head coach in the dressing room after the innings, in a video released by BCCI on its social media handles.

Gambhir’s decision of changing the batting order and sending KL Rahul to open alongside Jaiswal also bore fruit. The duo amassed a partnership of 201 runs in 383 runs and set a record for the highest-ever opening partnership for India in Australia. KL Rahul played his part and held his end of the crease, setting the tone of the innings perfectly from the start, while Jaiswal complete his century as well.

Questions were also raised when Gambhir chose to back Harshit Rana and Nitish Reddy ahead of the series but those too, have been answered by their performances on the field. Harshit took a three-wicket haul in the second innings and has caught the eye on his debut. Nitish, on the other hand, held his ground with the bat in both innings. His knock of 38 runs in just 27 deliveries helped India to take extend their lead over the 500-run mark.

With two days left in the First Test, India are in the driver’s seat to take an early lead in the series. After being dealt three consecutive losses by the hand of New Zealand on home soil, Gambhir-led India has shown great strength and determination to change the narrative again and ensure it continues its authority in the Test format.