Ravichandran Ashwin has opened up about the scary flight incident back during their Australia tour of 2020/21. It was an iconic series as India emerged as one of the finest Test teams when they defeated the hosts on their home soil to clinch the victory by 2-1 to etch their names in the history books.
While the Indian team was flying to Sydney, from Melbourne, for the New Year’s Test, their flight was hit by a thunderstorm and their ride became miserable.
Ravichandran Ashwin Recalled Scary Flight To Sydney Which Encountered Thunderstorm During Historical 2020/21 Australia Tour
Ravichandran Ashwin recalled his memories from the journey, during the trailer launch of Voot Select’s upcoming documentary ‘Bandon Mein Tha Dum’, and mentioned how scary the ride was for him and the team.
“We were flying to Sydney and the flight encountered a thunderstorm. It was so scary that for a moment, I thought that the flight would never land,” Ravichandran Ashwin recollected at the trailer launch of the series.
After landing in Australia successfully, Ravichandran Ashwin had even tweeted about the incident as he had written: “Yours Turbulently, Melbourne to Sydney! #ouch #scary.”
The upcoming series Bandon Mein Tha Dum has been directed by ace director Neeraj Pandey and is based on India’s historic win over Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21. It brings out the emotions of the Indian players as they talk about the experience of starting the series at 36 all out and then stunningly ending it with a series win.
What made the win more special was that India played the final Test without the likes of Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Hanuma Vihari. All the aforementioned players, except Virat Kohli (who took a paternity leave), got injured by the end of the third Test in Sydney. From getting all-out on 36 in the first Test, India bounced back to seal the series 2-1 in their favour.
India Won The Series Against Australia In 2020/21 Despite Missing Several Key Players Due To Injuries
After the hosts won the first Test match of the series and handed the visitors a bruising defeat, India put up their best to win the second game, and then the third game at Sydney ended in a draw. The final Test match, which was crucial for both the teams, was won by India at Gabba, in Brisbane, as the team players and members celebrated every moment of the victory.
Rishabh Pant also played one of the pivotal roles in India’s comeback victory in the 2020/21 series against Australia with back-to-back spectacular knocks in the fourth innings of a Test. His 97 off 118 in Sydney helped India salvage a draw in the third Test while his unbeaten 89 off 138 helped the visitors script a historic Gabba win.
It was an emotional moment for the Indian team as some of the key players had been injured and had to sit out of the game. But India found two warriors in the form of Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant, whose efforts with the ball and bat respectively helped India to win. Meanwhile, India’s next Test match is scheduled against England in Birmingham which commences on June 1.
Being 1-0 down, losing the services of regular skipper Virat Kohli due to his paternity leave, having lost several key players like Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, KL Rahul, and Ravindra Jadeja due to injuries at various stages of 4 match Test series, a second-string Ajinkya Rahane-led India staged a comeback as they won their second straight Test series on Australian soil.
The win at Brisbane was more creditable as they even struggled to field an XI and eventually fielded a team without any frontline bowler.