India fought against the odds on Tuesday in Brisbane to end Day 4 at 252/9, still trailing by 193 runs to Australia’s 445 but more importantly having avoided the follow-on and potentially saved the Test. The arduous journey up to this point was built on the back of KL Rahul’s 84 before Ravindra Jadeja carried the tail along in a knock of 77, but all hope looked lost when the all-rounder departed late in the evening with the visitors still 33 runs away from safety. However, what followed was Test cricket at its very best as tailenders Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep frustrated the Aussie attack with quirky and streaky strokes to keep their team alive, and things truly came to a head in the final over of the day with Cummins steaming in and India needing four runs.
The first ball of the over nipped backed sharply from a back of a length to thump into Akash’s thigh and elevate the tension. However, the Aussie skipper decided to go short and wide next, unaware that his counterpart had been waiting for it as Akash stood on his toes and expertly guided the ball over the skip cordon for a potentially match-saving boundary. The Indian dressing room which had been watching the action unfold with bated breaths immediately erupted into celebration, led by the ever-enigmatic pair of Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir. The duo let out loud passionate roars to celebrate the mark before sharing a stirring high-five in a moment that perfectly encapsulated the expression of every Indian fan.
Twitterati was quick to get in on the celebrations too.
The moment
Legendary
Bumrah in this series:
– captaincy
– wickets with new ball
– wickets with old ball
– faces the press conference
– saves Indian batting from follow on pic.twitter.com/OXiP1xKX5i— Johns (@JohnyBravo183) December 17, 2024
FOLLOW ON AVOIDED 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/Ce1veJUdUk
— Johns (@JohnyBravo183) December 17, 2024
Good old days
Ah the good old days when saving the follow on felt like an achievement. Hello Gen Z welcome to the 1990s cricket.
— Drog BABA (@TheDrogBABA) December 17, 2024
Saved
We are celebrating saving the follow on this much like we’ve won the game. Honestly, do we really deserve to be in the WTC final?👀
— Bhawana (@cricbhawana) December 17, 2024
From toota hai gabba ka ghamand to bhai 15 run maar do follow on bachane ke liye 😭😭😭 what downfall
— babu bisleri (@baabuOP) December 17, 2024
Sad
Seen many handles mocking the celebrations as if they won instead of avoiding the follow on!
From where I see, a loss averted, going to Melbourne with series still tied at 1-1, after doing away with the biggest challenges of Perth, Adelaide and Gabba, is a significant victory! pic.twitter.com/I7bQVAScBz— Gagan Chawla (@toecrushrzzz) December 17, 2024
Downfall
From celebrating win in Australia to avoiding follow on celebrations 😐pic.twitter.com/fXjvibhfp1
— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) December 17, 2024
Indian cricket team’s dressing room after Indians avoided follow on pic.twitter.com/bRsFU2QIRr
— Ra_Bies 3.0 (@Ra_Bies) December 17, 2024
We have fallen
