To play cricket, you need batters, bowlers and wicket keepers equipped with the basic fundamentals of the game. For a viewer, all these things combined with the cricketing gear is sufficient to play the game of cricket. However, the game is played with much more than these. It's played with tremendous passion, dedication, grit and the tough mindset to give the best at any point of time while facing any situations. As much as the basics of the game play a role in the outcome, so does these additional yet vital factors contribute to its success.

There are countless examples of the same witnessed by the cricketing world where one saw the players go an extra mile to risk it for them and help their team's cause. A 16 year old Sachin Tendulkar playing with a broken nose against Pakistan to save the match for India, Anil Kumble playing with a broke jaw, Graeme Smith batting with a broken hand to save the team's defeat, Nathan Lyon coming out to bat in spite of a heavy injury are all great examples of the same. In all these cases, it was about one player at a time putting the team ahead of his own interests. But in 2021, world witnessed a unique case where both the batters were suffering from fatal injuries, and yet went on to fight for the team.

The early morning of 11th January 2021, the world witnessed Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin put up one of the greatest fights to save the test match for India in the historic series of BGT 2021. Carrying the pain of their injuries, the duo carried the hopes of Indian expectations to save the defeat which was visible to the fans. Battling with Grade 3 tear in hamstring, Hanuma Vihari stood tall along with Ravichandran Ashwin whp suffered a stiff back, and the two batted for 250+ balls infuriating Aussies. The duo couldn't go down to defend the ball due to injuries, but didn't let Indian team go down as the Indians applauded the duo's efforts with pride in their eyes and smile on their faces.

It all happened at the high voltage Border Gavaskar Trophy of 2020-21 which was already in the limelight for all the right as well as wrong reasons. The series was already termed as Aussie media as a one sided encounter as Virat Kohli was only supposed to face the first match. And the same match unfortunately India reached it to a new low by being bundled on 36 runs. With Virat out, Ajinkya Rahane had the daunting task to redeem himself, and he did in in style at the MCG courtesy his fantastic century. With the series already poised well with 1 win each, both the teams were desparate for another victory.

While Australia were playing with a full strength squad, India were playing almost their second string squad in a much important game. With Virat out already, and Shami injured in the first match itself, the team was playing without their best batter and best bowler in Australian conditions. If this wasn't enough, the hypocrite Australian media demanded to ban Gill, Rohit Sharma, and few others for breaching the bio bubble, when clearly they had not done it. The team without Virat and Shami defeating them at MCG had irked the Australians, who tried it all to distract India. And with the peaked adrenaline the 3rd test match was played. And exactly when it looked like India might face defeat here, came the heroics of Vihari and Ashwin, which heavily uplifted the Indian spirits.

A match played with great skills from both the teams was favouring the Aussies. The duo of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith played knocks suiting their stature in both the innings. And the Australian bowlers breathed fire against India in the first innings. After the completion of 3 innings, India had a daunting task of making 417 runs to win the game. And the team comprising of equal number of youth and experience did really well to accomplish the task. It was all going well till Rishabh Pant was on the crease. With his magnificent 97, he gave Aussies a scare, but when he was dismissed the tables were turned. Vihari who was already injured while batting with Pant was now left alone with Ashwin who came on the crease with stiff back which was aching for a long time.

With one batter unable to move his lower body, and other unable to move have any movement with his upped body, the challenge of staying on the crease for around 45 overs looked impossible, let alone the thought of scoring 145 runs off it. And to make matters worse, Aussies implemented a great strategy to bowl spin from one end to tackle Vihari who couldn't bend down to defend, and pace from other end to handle Ashwin. Nathan Lyon continued to bowl from one end while pace trio tried to give the Indian team a wicket scare. In order to tackle this, very cleverly the duo managed to sneak a single and rotated strike in a way that Ashwin faced spinners and Vihari faced their spearheads, whose balls bounced little high for Vihari to tackle comparatively easier.

But the question was for how long is this going to continue? Initially the energy levels of Aussies were high, and as time passed by it gradually went down. Ashwin beautifully defended Nathan Lyon, while Vihari continued to deal with pacers with his sensible batting. Seeing the batters bat maiden after maiden without scoring runs, the frustrated Australians tried to engage in verbal alleys, which didn't help their case either. Ashwin stopped on occasions when Tim Paine sledegd, frustrating the fragile Aussies even more. That's when Tim Paine said Ashwin "Come to Gabba, and we'll show you" to which Ashwin replied ," You come to India, and we'll make sure your career gets over". Both Paine as well as Ashwin were wrong, as India emerged victorious at Gabba, and Tim Paine's didn't last long till Australia toured India next.

Ravichandran Ashwin might be wrong in predicting about Paine's career, but his approach was the perfect one India needed that day. Hero usually with the bowl, Ashwin came together with Vihari to bat for eternity and deny Australia a hard earned victory. And the test turned the fortunes for India, as it gave another chance for the team to fix their spot in WTC final as well as to win the series. Vihari couldn't walk, but he made sure his team walked past the Aussie barrier, and Ashwin couldn't stand post the match, but he stood up like a thorn in the flesh for the Australians. While the statistics might never reveal the importance of this partnership, a billion fans in India and cricket lovers around the globe have this innings etched in their hearts forever. The heroics set the tone for a historic victory in Gabba, and would always be remembered as a tale of resilience, unwavering passion for the game and unparalleled love for the country.