Ajinkya Rahane lauds team's character | 'We did not get bogged down after Adelaide defeat'

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Melbourne, December 29: After an epochal win at Melbourne on Tuesday (December 29), Ajinkya Rahane led India from the front as captain of the side scoring a hundred and then effecting some smart bowling changes. As is his wont, Rahane gave full credit to the team and said as unit they did not get bogged down after that Adelaide bashing.

India beat Australia by 8 wickets at MCG in the Boxing Day Test to level the series 1-1.

"I am really proud of all the players, credit to our debutants Gill and Siraj. The way they showed character was amazing, but credit to everyone. The talk was all about showing attitude, intent and character. One hour took the game away from us in Adelaide. It would've been easy for us to get bogged down thinking about Adelaide, but we decided to not do that. Collective effort of individuals was the message and we knew we'd get the results if we did that," Rahane told host broadcasters.

Rahane was not ready to rest on the laurels, though. "But we still have a lot to learn (despite this win). Australia applied themselves in the second innings, especially the last five batsmen."

The Indian captain said the five-bowler strategy worked well in the Melbourne Test. "The five bowling options worked out really well. We were thinking of one allrounder and Jadeja did really well," he said.

On the injured Umesh Yadav and Rohit Sharma, who is poised to return to the 11 in the third Test at Sydney, Rahane said: "Umesh is recovering well, we're excited about Rohit coming back. I spoke to him yesterday and he's really excited about coming back."

Rahane showered praise on Mohammad Siraj and Shubman Gill, who made their debuts at Melbourne.

"Shubman has done well in first-class cricket, showed intent and composure. Siraj bowled with a lot of discipline. Sometimes as debutants, you can get carried away, but guys who play first-class cricket for four-five years and then India A know what to do, it makes a captain's job easier. The way Siraj bowled with discipline and patience was great to see."

"It was important to bowl with discipline, which we did really well, especially Ashwin who came on in the 10th over and created that pressure," he added.