Since Virat Kohli left for India on paternity leave and handed the captaincy to Ajinkya Rahane, the stand-in skipper has made sure to not disappoint the fans and critics.
From winning the Boxing Day Test to drawing an almost losing match at Sydney, Rahane's tactical moves have made sure to keep India running in the game for the Border–Gavaskar Trophy.
Rahane was especially appreciated for sending wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant up the order to maintain a left-right combination.
His move worked as Pant fired a blistering 97, reviving hopes of an India win. After his wicket, Hanuma Vihari came to the crease and he along with R Ashwin denied Aussies the victory.
So talking about the memorable draw, Rickey Pointing told Unplayable Podcast that Rahane's decision to send Pant above was a "masterstroke".
"Very good proactive captaincy or coaching for sending Rishabh up. For India to stay in with a chance to win, they needed to do that. He had a little bit of luck with Paine putting him down a couple of times," Ponting said.
"It's not all crash and bang with him, there is a lot of skill involved, and he is proper test match batsman to the point today where a lot of the commentators were saying can he play as a batsman in the middle order and have Saha keep.”
Pant, with an elbow injury, started slow and was unbeaten on five off 34 balls. However, he soon switched gears and smacked three sixes off Nathan Lyon. He and Cheteshwar Pujara added 148 runs for the fourth wicket. Though Pant missed out on a century by three runs, his knock was important.
"It was a masterstroke to put him up there, but he still got to play that innings, and he did it. He does it in his own way; he does it with a bit of swagger and confidence,” Ponting added.
"Taking on Lyon like he did, even with fielders out says he backs himself and his skillset. I said at the start of the series that there is a chance for him to cement himself as India's keeper-batsman for the next 10-12 years and innings like today will go a long way in helping that."
As for the two sides, they will meet in Brisbane for the Gabba Test which will begin from Friday. This will be the fourth and final Test and will also be the decider game as the India and Australia are levelled at 1-1 each.
