Five years ago today feels like yesterday and also another lifetime. The world was masked up. Cricket happened in empty stadiums behind bio-bubble walls. Families were video calls. Touch was forbidden. And a group of Indian boys had just been humiliated in Adelaide. Thirty-six all out. They were locked away from the world with nothing but their shame for company. Eight days later, they were dancing on the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This is that story.
The numbers kept spinning in their heads. Thirty-six. Not a respectable total in even in a T20 powerplay. Not even a decent club score on a Sunday morning. But here was India’s proudest batting line-up, all out for 36 in Adelaide. The dressing room smelled of defeat. Not the normal kind. This was different. This was humiliation soaked in silence.
Then the news came. Virat Kohli was leaving. Not because he wanted to. His baby girl was arriving. Fatherhood called. Who could argue with that? But the timing felt cruel. The captain was going home. Mohammed Shami’s hand was broken. He was gone too. Umesh Yadav’s calf gave up. India landed in Melbourne limping, bleeding, and with their dignity smashed into thirty-six pieces.
When Rahane had to say sorry
Ajinkya Rahane did not want the captain’s armband. Not like this. In Adelaide, he had called for a single that was not there. Virat ran. Rahane sent him back. Too late. The captain walked. Rahane’s face told the story. The raised hand. The apology. The curse word that cameras caught in slow motion. Then he got out eight runs later, still looking like a man who had seen a ghost. Next innings, the whole team fell apart. Thirty-six all out.
Now they wanted him to lead. Perfect.
In the team meeting before Melbourne, Rahane sat quiet while others talked. Should we play an extra batter? Fill the Virat-sized hole? Rahane cleared his throat. “Let us strengthen our bowling,” he said. Simple words. Everyone looked at him. He was serious. They trusted him.
Boxing Day morning changes everything
Melbourne on December 26th felt different. The MCG had history. India’s history. They had won here before. Not many times. But enough to believe.
Australia batted first. The openers went cheaply. Then Steven Smith walked in. India’s nemesis. The man who lives in their nightmares. R Ashwin had his number in Adelaide. He had him again here. Second ball. It dipped. It turned. Smith pushed forward. The ball found his inside edge. Leg slip. Cheteshwar Pujara took it. Smith was gone for zero. The trap worked.
Marnus Labuschagne looked solid. He reached 48. Looked set for a big one. Then Mohammed Siraj, playing his first Test, sent one down leg side. Marnus flicked casually. Shubman Gill, another debutant, dived low at backward square leg. Took it clean. Australia were 134 for 5 and soon 195 all-out. The advantage of winning the toss? Gone.
The drop that haunted Australia
India’s batting started shaky. Gill got two lives early. Rishabh Pant got a chance too. Then came the moment. Rahane on 73. Mitchell Starc got one to move away. Rahane edged. It flew low to Steven Smith at second slip. The ball touched his fingers but popped out. At that moment, India were only 40 runs ahead. If Smith had held on, the lead would have stayed small. Instead, Rahane kept going.
He had started slowly. Painfully slow. Four runs off thirty balls. But Rahane trusted his defence. He soaked up pressure like a sponge. Then, when his rhythm came, the shots flowed. Not flashy. Just pure. None better than the square cut off Pat Cummins that brought his hundred. The ball raced to the point boundary. Rahane raised his bat. No big celebration. Just a quiet nod. Like he knew this was his job.
Hanuma Vihari hung around. Rishabh Pant hit a few. Ravindra Jadeja made 57. Rahane finished with 112. India led by 131. From 36 all out to a 131-run lead. Against Australia at the MCG.
Young blood who did not know fear
Shubman Gill walked out to open in the second innings. India needed just 70. Still, the ghosts of thirty-six whispered. Gill played like he heard nothing. Drove Hazlewood on the up. Pulled Cummins with disdain. 45 runs in the first innings. Now he was finishing the job without any fear.
Mohammed Siraj had lost his father during the tour. Could not go home. Here he was, making his debut. He took three wickets in the second innings. Bowled with heart. Every ball carried a story. He supported Jasprit Bumrah like they had bowled together for years. Bumrah took four in the first innings. In the second, he did something special.
The ball that gave them belief
Australia started their second innings needing to wipe out 131 runs just to make India bat again. Smith walked in again. This was his stage. He blocked, he left, he looked settled. Then Bumrah ran in. The ball pitched on middle. Smith walked across, like he always does. He misses sometimes, but rarely gets bowled. This time he missed completely. The ball clipped leg stump. Bail fell. Smith stood frozen. Australia were three down. Still sixty behind.
Tim Paine came in. He was the hero from Adelaide. He and Cameron Green tried to build something. Then Jadeja came on. Paine missed a cut. Appeal for caught behind. Umpire said no. Rahane at slip reviewed immediately. Paine shook his head. He knew he did not hit it. Hot Spot showed nothing. But Snicko had a tiny spike. Out. Paine walked back looking confused. India knew they had it in the bag.
Morning after the night before
Australia’s tail made India work next morning. Four wickets to get. But the runs would not come. Australia made 200 in 103.1 overs. Their slowest at home since 1986. No half-century in both innings.
India’s chase of 70 had two early wickets. Mayank Agarwal edged a drive. Cheteshwar Pujara got a flat-foot edge to gully. Pat Cummins again. Three times in four innings. But Gill’s boundaries and Rahane’s pull shot finished it. When the winning run came, it felt right that it came off the captain’s bat.
What the scorecard will not tell
The scorecard says India won by eight wickets. It says Rahane scored 112. Bumrah got 6 wickets. Siraj got key wickets. Gill made runs.
It does not say how Rahane could not sleep after Adelaide. It does not show Siraj crying at night thinking of his father. It does not capture the silence in the dressing room after thirty-six all out. It does not show the young Gill calling his mother back in Punjab, telling her not to worry. It does not show Ashwin studying Smith’s footwork for hours on his laptop.
Ian Chappell said it right. Rahane’s hundred came when India could have fallen two-nil down. Instead, it gave them belief. Real belief.
From thirty-six all out to winning at the MCG in eight days. That is not just a cricket story. That is a human story. About picking yourself up when you are down. About trusting yourself when nobody else does. About young kids standing tall and wounded soldiers leading from the front.
India would wear thirty-six like a badge later. But that day in Melbourne, they just wanted to win. And they did. Not with superstars. Not with big talk. Just with belief.