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India vs Australia: Ajinkya Rahane's league of extraordinary debutants who made series Down Under memorable

Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, T Natarajan made their debut in the series Down Under.

  • DNA Web Team
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  • Jan 19, 2021, 04:32 PM IST

India not just won the four-match series 2-1 but also won everyone's heart after their historic three-wicket win in the final Test in Brisbane.

The Gabba fortress saw the unimaginable happen as Australia lost at the venue after 32 years and two months. The last time a visiting team came out triumphant from the Brisbane Cricket Ground was back in November 1988 when the mighty West Indian outfit under the leadership of Viv Richards thrashed Allan Border's team by 9 wickets.

What makes the feat even more commendable is how the Indians fought multiple injuries and mental fatigue - due to the bio-bubble restrictions -- to register a historic win.

With regular captain Virat Kohli on paternity leave and the likes of Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and KL Rahul – all suffered various injuries, India played with 20 members of the squad in the series.

While this win is very special for the squad, there were five debutants - Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, T Natarajan - who gave it their all for the series Down Under.

1. Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill
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After an impressive knock in the warm-up games, Shubman Gill replaced out-of-form Prithvi Shaw as the opener in the Boxing Day Test. 

 

Gill played a crucial role in scripting the eight-wicket series-levelling win for in Melbourne as he aggregated 80 runs with the bat. 

 

In the third Test in Sydney, the 21-year-old scored his maiden half-century. In the fourth and final Test, he missed his maiden Test hundred by just 9 runs but he stitched a 114-run partnership with Cheteshwar Pujara to take India from 18/1 to 132/2.

 

The Punjab-lad, become the highest run-scorer from India in the series. In the six innings of the three Tests, he scored 259 runs including two fifties. 

2. Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj
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Mohammed Siraj made his debut and the absence of Shami gave a chance to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bowler to prove his worth.

 

The 26-year-old made his Test debut at the iconic MCG and took the wickets of Marnus Labuschagne and all-rounder Cameron Green. 

 

He even picked up five wickets in the Boxing Day Test. However, Siraj's turning point came in the fourth and final Test in Brisbane where he picked up his maiden five-for.

3. Washington Sundar

Washington Sundar
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Came to Australia as a net bowler but impressed all after making it to the playing XI was Washington Sundar. He replaced the experienced bowler Ashwin as he the latter suffered back injury. The 21-year-old not only picked wickets but also made a telling contribution with the bat.

 

Sundar dismissed Steve Smith in the hosts' first innings to pick up his maiden Test scalp. His knock of 62 and a 123-run stand with Shardul Thakur helped India cross the 300-mark.

4. T Natarajan

T Natarajan
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Left-arm pacer Thangasaru Natarajan made his Test debut for India at The Gabba, Brisbane. He had arrived in Australia as a net bowler, but the Tamil Nadu cricketer became the first Indian cricketer to make his international debut across all three formats during the same tour. 

 

Natarajan was named in India's playing XI and also became the 300th player to represent India in the longest format of the game. He had taken three crucial wickets in Australia's first innings as he dismissed Matthew Wade, Marnus Labushchagne and Josh Hazlewood.

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