After the Adelaide Test loss, India bounced back in no time to draw a Test in Sydney and then had managed to win a historic Test at Gabba.
Right after the humiliation at Adelaide, nobody would’ve thought that India would end up as the winner of the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Everything began with the Sydney Test where Hanuma Vihari and Ashwin produced one of the best acts of defence to save the Test.
Vihari had injuries, so did Ashwin. Still, they went on to save the game for the team. Both the players then had to sit out of the final Test because of Injury.
Vihari, in his recent interview to Sports Today, revealed what his mentor Rahul Dravid told him after the Draw.
He(Dravid) said ‘Very well done, you did a great job’. That is the person he is and I respect him for that,” Vihari told India Today’s Consulting Editor (Sports) Boria Majumdar.
He also spoke about how he made the players ready for this challenge.
“..Also, in the last 3-4 years, we played many India A tours and he was the coach (Rahul Dravid). I don’t think we played so many India A tours before. So that bridged the gap between Ranji Trophy and the Indian team. We made the progress quickly. That’s the reason why we are playing our first game or the second game, we are ready for the challenge. We are not behind any other players. He made it possible,” he added.
He also opened up about the words of encouragement Dravid gave when he made his debut.
“Even in the last Australia tour, I made a call to him, saying ‘Sir, I am making my debut’. He said ‘you have done exceptionally well in Ranji Trophy, in India A, so you’re ready to play’. That’s the confidence he gave me,” Vihari said.
