It Feels Really Good to Win the Test Series in Australia: Prithvi Shaw
Jan 21, 2019 at 12:54 AM
The teenage sensation Prithvi Shaw, who was a part of the Indian National Cricket Team Test squad returned home without playing a single match. The 19-year-old Mumbaikar twisted his ankle during a practice game which eventually cut short his Australian tour. However, Shaw has lauded the efforts of Team India and batters in particular over scripting the historic Test series victory on the Australian shores.
“It feels really good to win the Test series after playing so hard. The batsmen also gave their best for the team. All of them clicked at some time or the other. Kohli Bhai, Pujara Bhai, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant – they were trying their best,” Shaw told IndiaTV in an interview.
Before twisting his left ankle at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) during a warm-up match against Cricket Australia XI when Shaw tried to catch the ball at the deep-midwicket region on the bowling of Ravichandran Ashwin, Shaw smashed 66 with the bat.
It was disheartening: Shaw on Injury
Shaw, who expressed dejection, had unconditional support from his teammates while adding it as part and parcel of the game.
“I got full support of the team at that time because I was very disappointed with the injury. I had practised hard for the tour and had many things in my mind that I thought I would do there. So, it was disheartening. But yeah, now I am happy that we won the series,” Shaw stated.
Earlier, optimistic Shaw expressed excitement to prove his mettle on the bouncy wickets of Australia. But, at the same time, he is happy to see results favouring India.
“It was an unfortunate incident, and you can’t really do anything about that. It was my wish to play in the challenging conditions in Australia. I love the bounce there. But unfortunately, I suffered a leg injury. But that’s okay; I am very happy that India won the Test series. It can’t get better than this,” Shaw added.
Test triumph is ‘huge achievement’: Shaw
The right-handed batting prodigy Shaw had termed the Test triumph as massive ‘achievement’ for the Virat Kohli-led side for outdoing bleak-looking hosts. He termed the combination of the unit ‘perfect’ which reaped the rewards from time to time.
“It was a huge achievement for us as an Indian cricket team to win a Test series against Australia in Australia. The team combination was perfect,” Shaw said.
In October 2018, Shaw who made his exceptionally Test debut at Rajkot against the Windies. Shaw was backing himself while being in good stead.
So far, the opening batsman Shaw has featured in two Tests. He amassed 237 runs at the average of staggering 118.50 with the help of a hundred and as many half-centuries under his belt.
Shaw hails fast bowling pack:
Moreover, Shaw is impressed with the way Indian bowlers rose to the occasion. He complimented the fast bowlers by saying they have done remarkably well—to outclass the hosts batting department.
“The way the bowlers bowled, I haven’t seen a fast bowling attack of this calibre in my cricketing career,” Shah maintained.
Focusing on return to compete: Shaw
In conclusion, Shaw is looking forward to regaining the full fitness to compete in the Indian Premier League (IPL) before setting sights on the 2019 World Cup. He is putting the hard yards to start his practice.
“I will be fit before the Indian Premier League. I am working on my ankle as well as on my upper body,” Shaw concluded.
Interestingly, Shaw was pushing himself to feature in the second Test against Tim Paine-led Australia, but the excruciating pain didn’t allow him to don the whites for India on the Australian soil.