India create history at Gabba, PM Modi, Pichai laud ‘energy and passion’; BCCI announces Rs 5 cr bonus

As India clinched a scintillating 3-wicket win against hosts Australia at the Gabba Test in Brisbane, congratulations poured in for the cricketing bunch. The team led by Ajinkya Rahane put up a brave fight and bagged the fourth and final Test of the Border-Gavaskar series, winning it by 2-1.

India’s win over the Aussies has been dubbed as “historic”. And not without reason. The last time a touring team managed to have the last laugh at the Brisbane Cricket Ground was almost 33 years ago in November 1988. At the time, Sir Vivian Richards led the Caribbeans to a thumping win over Allan Border's team by 9 wickets. The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, has remained a fortress for the hosts, and no one, till now has been able to breach that.

And one of the first to acknowledge India’s historic feat was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who hailed the “stellar intent and remarkable grit” shown by the side. While he lauded them for their “remarkable energy and passion”, his colleague and Home Minister Amit Shah called it a “historic” win.



Across the world, in the United States, Sundar Pichai also seemed to have been tuned in to the game that saw Rishabh Pant script a new high for himself as he became the fastest Indian wicket-keeper batsman to score 1,000 Test runs, thereby breaking former India captain MS Dhoni's record of 32 innings. The Google boss called the Gabba game “one of the greatest Test series wins ever” while congratulating both sides.


The Indian team has had a fantastic turnaround in the series. From being crushed for 36 in the first Test to scripting a win like this, it has been a great learning experience for the series. Rahane led the team confidently after Virat Kohli had to fly back to India for the birth of his first child with wife Anushka Sharma. The 33-year-old skipper congratulated the team on Twitter, and had a message for critics who had reservations about the team's calibre after the Adelaide debacle.


Former India opener Virender Sehwag while hailing India's performance, took a dig at the "Australian arrogance and pride."

His contemporary, Sachin Tendulkar, also reminded the Indian team to not get disheartened by failure as "the spring stretches backward only to propel you forward."

Meanwhile, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a whopping Rs 5 cr team bonus for the team after their stupendous performance Down Under. Secretary Jay Shah tweeted after India clocked victory that the bonus honours "outstanding display of character and skill."