Ind vs Aus 3rd Test: India’s balcony celebrations at Gabba after avoiding follow-on raise eyebrows

Akash Deep fist bumps with Jasprit Bumrah after India crossed the 246 mark on day 4 of the third Test against Australia in Brisbane on December 17, 2024. Bumrah and Deep helped India avoid the follow-on during a grim day of rains and runs on December 17, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

India’s animated celebrations after narrowly avoiding a follow-on at the Gabba on day four of the third Test surprised former and current Australian players including Nathan Lyon.

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The Indian tail, led by Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah, put on a gritty 47-run stand for the final wicket to ensure Australia bat again in the game.

“After play, we spoke about that and we were surprised by some of their reactions, especially the way we’ve gone about this game and I think we can be extremely proud about the way we’ve gone about it,” Lyon told Fox Cricket.

“We’ve driven this game and to get it into the position we find ourselves in at the moment, we feel like that’s a pretty big message to us that they’re feeling confident in where they are in the game. But I honestly feel like there’s a lot of cricket left in this game,” he said on the sidelines of day five.

Former wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and Brett Lee too expressed surprise at India’s celebrations.

“That reaction surprised me; all they did was pass the follow-on, they’re still a long way behind in the game,” Haddin said.

“That would’ve fired me up actually, and I would’ve been saying in the change rooms: ‘Let’s get these guys out there to have a bat (in the second innings).” This effort denied Australian skipper Pat Cummins the chance to enforce a follow-on for the first time in over 13 years.

As Akash Deep scored a boundary through gully to achieve this milestone, the Indian dressing room erupted in joy, with the senior duo of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma visibly-ecstatic.

“I remember that’s what England said in 2005 when we played it out for the draw, when there was a bit of a celebration from us,” former Australian pacer Lee said.