Don't rile up India! When teams learned it the hard way after going at Indian team

India Today

31-07-2025

In sports, a bit of banter and riling up is all part of the game. We often see teams trying to rile up their opponents with a bit of psychological warfare to rattle the players and make them commit a mistake. Sometimes, these players can cross the line with some expletives involved — and all of it adds to the spice in the game.advertisementBut this isn't just limited to the field; we often see it extend beyond it as well. Despite all this warfare, there are times when it falls flat and doesn't have the desired effect. The opponents may just take it all in — and then come after you and secure the win. In the Indian cricket team's case, there have been countless instances when they have faced the music and riling up from their opponents and given it back. Sometimes they do it in the same game, or sometimes in the next one.Now, why we are looking into this topic is because of what has happened in the ongoing Test series between India and England. While the first two matches didn't have a lot of drama, things started to heat up from Day 3 of the Lord's Test as the Indian team had a go at their hosts for time-wasting. The Manchester Test then saw the Indian team reject the handshake offer from Ben Stokes — and just when we thought things couldn't get any spicier, Gautam Gambhir decided to enter the fray. The Indian coach had some choice words for Oval pitch curator Lee Fortis, as he shouted at the Indian support staff and asked everyone to stay away from the pitch.
R Ashwin had an interesting take on the matter and said that this has handed an advantage to the Indian team.'After all that, when I saw the video of that fight today, I am thinking, 'Boss, what are you guys doing?' This is not how you want to play against this Indian team. I have always seen that when adversity strikes the Indian team, however it may be, someone will rise up. When things are not going right, or when we are pushed against the wall, the Indian team is a different kettle of fish; it becomes a different beast.'The former spinner also pointed to various instances in the past when opponents have tried to rile up India — and how they have responded strongly, as the team gets galvanised.'When such an incident occurs, those sleeping beasts, the individually brilliant players, will come together. I have seen that many times. You look at any kind of adversity. When that Monkeygate incident happened, you saw how we played in the next Test. Look at what happened at the Gabba, look at what happened at the Lord's, where Virat said, '60 overs of hell'. It galvanizes the team,' said Ashwin.advertisementSo let's take a look at some of these instances.When Gavaskar walked out and India hit back at AustraliaThe stage was the 1981 Melbourne Test as India and Australia were going at it. Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan were opening the batting, and the former was the captain of the side. Gavaskar was controversially given out leg before wicket as Dennis Lillee celebrated. Gavaskar was furious, as the ball had hit the bat before crashing onto the pads, and the Indian captain decided to stand his ground. He then had an animated chat with Lillee before deciding to walk off the field, telling his opening partner Chauhan to return with him to the pavilion.The Indian manager Shahid Durrani intervened and asked Chauhan to continue in order to avoid a potential forfeit. Gavaskar was back in the pavilion, but the Indian team was ready to avenge their skipper. Kapil Dev stepped up with the ball and claimed five wickets in the second innings to help India win the match by 59 runs.India conquer Perth after Sydney horrorThe Sydney Test during the 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy is infamous for many reasons if you're an Indian cricket team fan. First, it was the match where the Monkeygate scandal happened, with Harbhajan Singh coming under the scanner for his supposed racial abuse of Andrew Symonds.advertisementFollowing this, as the match headed for a thrilling finish, some horrible decisions left everyone shocked. This was the match where Ricky Ponting claimed he took the catch of Sourav Ganguly cleanly, but replays showed that there was more than met the eye.After the match was done, India even planned to leave the series mid-way and head home. Such was the tension. However, they responded in the very next game.The match was played in Perth and the rivalry between the sides was at an all-time high. A young Ishant Sharma proved to be a nightmare for Australian skipper Ponting as India outclassed the Aussies and claimed a famous 72-run win.When Harbhajan decided to take Pakistan and Shoaib Akhtar onThe stage was the Asia Cup 2010, and we had India going up against arch-rivals Pakistan. The men in green posted a target of 267 for India to chase, and after a shaky start, India were stabilised by Gambhir and MS Dhoni's partnership.Then came the first boiling point, when Gambhir and Kamran Akmal went at it and had to be separated by the umpires and players. Soon, India found themselves struggling, with Harbhajan and Suresh Raina having to put on a rescue act.advertisementThe off-spinner showed he was no slouch with the bat and took on Shoaib Akhtar, hitting him for a six. The Pakistan pacer didn't take it too kindly and had some things to tell the spinner. How did Harbhajan respond? He got himself ready for the final over and hit Mohammad Amir for a six, as India sealed the win with one ball remaining.Harbhajan celebrated in front of Akhtar — and the Pakistan pacer decided to let it be.Giving hell at Lord's'For 60 overs, they should feel hell out there.'This was the famous line from then-captain Virat Kohli as India aimed for the win at Lord's. Over the course of the match, England made sure to rile up the Indian team across both innings, and the visitors gave it back as well. They refused to back down from the fight as England needed to chase 272 on the final day to win.The Indian bowlers were right on the money as they destroyed the England batting order and left them reeling at 90 for seven. Jos Buttler and Ollie Robinson were looking to battle on, but Bumrah and Siraj had other ideas — the latter sealing the win by cleaning up James Anderson.advertisementIndia end Australian dominance at GabbaThe 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series was a tale of India's resurgence, despite a heavy defeat in the first match. They looked dead and buried, and with Kohli out of the series, the Indian team had a mountain to climb. And that's what they did.They won the second Test in Melbourne, and then Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin battled hard to salvage a draw. But during the course of the final day, then-Australia captain Tim Paine decided to sledge Ashwin and kept telling him how eager he was to get the spinner to Gabba — a fortress for Australia.The Indian team were riled up, and they made Paine eat his words as the young and inexperienced side served up the heat to the Aussies. Chasing 328 runs to win, India went about the chase brilliantly as Shubman Gill scored 91 and the fearless Rishabh Pant decided to take control of the chase.With a sweet boundary down the ground, Pant sent the Indian fans into raptures as fortress Gabba was breached — and India won the series 2-1.Time and again, attempts to provoke India have backfired, only serving to awaken a team that thrives under pressure. Whether it's on English turf or Australian soil, history shows: don't rile up India — you might not like what comes next.- EndsTune InMust Watch