David Warner could feel it in his gut. And it was the sickest of feelings. This, surely, could not happen.

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Australia was unbeatable at the Gabba. It was set in stone. For more than three decades it had been a case of the Australians arriving in Brisbane and rocking up to the Gabba and … well, ‘C’mon, Aussie, c’mon, c’mon’.

After all, this was an Indian team that had been humiliated in Adelaide only weeks earlier when bowled out for 36 in the series opener shortly before Christmas in 2020. Virat Kohli had headed for home for the birth of his child after that shocker, abdicating his throne.

Rishabh Pant was a superstar, sure, and Shubman Gill looked like becoming one. But the rest? They did not even have a premier paceman.

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No player gets a game for India without being talented, but against a hardened Australian side desperate to win back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, surely it was a case of serving up rookies for a reckoning.

Having set India a target of 327 on a fifth day pitch in Brisbane, few would have bet against the Aussies clinching what had been a superb series 2-1 to win back the esteemed prize.

But there was a problem. Indian coach Ravi Shastri had fortified this team to believe in the impossible. Records were made to be broken. And there was another factor at play, as Kerry O’Keeffe recalled in a chat with Fox Cricket at the MCG in November.

The Gabba pitch had a couple of cracks in it, Mark Waugh noted, but it was no seaming, speedy monster that usually unnerved teams on their arrival to Australia at a time when Brisbane used to host the start of the series, not the end.

Nor was it a raging Day 5 turner that would assist Nathan Lyon in beguiling his rivals with spinners spitting sideways or zipping through with a bite. To borrow from a local advertising pitch, if the pitch had been beautiful for four days, it was pretty good on the fifth.

“I didn’t know whether they would chase it, the old India, but this was the new India (and) they said, ‘We’re having a crack at this,’” O’Keeffe said.

“They knew that this was a day three pitch in Brisbane, that it was drier than any that had previously been presented at the Gabba, so they had a pitch to suit them, particularly to bat on.”

Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Gill strode to the crease to begin Day 5 with four runs on the board.

Despite Australia’s dominance at a ground known as the “Gabbatoir” given the hosts penchant for slicing and dicing the best cricketers the world could throw at them, Warner recalled there was a feeling of unease around the Aussies.

“It was just a venue that Australia does not lose at but we were nervous, really, really nervous,” he said.

Champion Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist could understand why the Aussies were apprehensive out in the middle.

It was not just the magnitude of the prize on offer, but the fact that they were facing an opponent few expected to be able to challenge given the circumstances. And this meant they had little to lose.

“They had reserve players playing, guys that no one had ever heard of. And they also had a young superstar, particularly in the form of Rishabh Pant,” Gilchrist said.

“That allowed them to come out and just show no fear. I think that’s what it was.”

A ‘ONCE IN A CENTURY’ DEBACLE

Kerry O’Keeffe noted dryly the drama that unfolded throughout what proved arguably the most gripping series played between the two cricket powerhouses.

“There was so much theatre throughout that series,” he said.

Even the most imaginative of script writers from the West End to Broadway would have struggled to conjure a turnaround as drastic as the one that unfolded in the 2020-21 drama.

The twists and turns, subplots, character turnover and even a couple of critical lines combined to ensure this was a Border-Gavaskar Trophy series made for Bollywood.

Australia was only just beginning to breathe with freedom again after the initial onslaught of the pandemic and closed borders had begun to open up, though not quickly enough for Western Australia to secure a Test.

The Indians arrived in Australia under the guidance of Shastri, who is a Fox Cricket expert analyst for the current series tied at 1-all heading into Brisbane.

Similarly to the most recent Test at Adelaide Oval, the 2020 edition was a day-night affair and the Indians batted first against the pink ball.

Mitchell Starc, who struck with the first ball in Adelaide when removing Yashasvi Jaiswal last Friday, was slightly slower off the mark four years ago. But it was the nearest run thing as he seized an early Christmas gift.

With his second ball for the series, he bowled Prithvi Shaw to set the tone for the Test but, given the rags to riches tone of this Bollywood fairytale, not the entire series.

Cheteshwar Pujura served notice of what was to come with a patient 43 from 160 deliveries, Ajinkya Rahane was also solid with the bat, while King Kohli scored 74 before being run out in what was to prove a cameo appearance for the summer.

The Indians were bowled out for 244, with Starc and Pat Cummins posing big problems, but their attack rebounded strongly to knock the Aussies over for 191, with only Australian skipper Tim Paine, who was unbeaten on 73, showing great resistance.

With David Warner sidelined through injury, the Aussies opened with Matthew Wade and Joe Burns, but they proved mere prey for the brilliance of Jasprit Bumrah.

Then came the debacle of historic proportions. Having led by 53 runs after the first innings, the Indians were decimated under lights at Adelaide Oval when bowled out for just 36.

Not one batter reached double digits, with Cummins and Josh Hazlewood sharing nine wickets before Mohammed Shami retired hurt, allowing Australia to cruise to an eight wicket win.

To add insult into the rawest of wounds, Kohli headed for home for the birth of his first child, a decision that was pre-planned and one completely understandable, despite the disaster.

Clear amid the after-match hysterics, though, was a calm voice. Shastri and Rahane, who would take over as captain, were mindful the Aussies were pink ball wizards and decided to move on swiftly. Bear that in mind when considering last weekend’s result.

“I told them that topic should not be discussed at all,” Rahane told a local Indian newspaper.

“My only message was (that) it happened in one hour. They played good cricket. Such things happen once in a century. The faster we accept this and move on, that is good for us.”

THE ‘CHIRPING’ KEEPER COMES UNSTUCK

The Indians rebounded spectacularly at the MCG and Rahane revelled in the responsibility of leading his nation after the King’s abdication, with his first innings century setting the tone for the tourists outstanding response.

The Aussie top order struggled to assert itself again and India, which unveiled an impressive newcomer named Shubman Gill, were able to chase down a second innings target of 69 with ease to square the series.

All eyes turned to the SCG in the New Year. The scene of the infamous Test between the two nations in 2008, it was not surprising that controversy flared on this occasion as well with a stoush between Australian skipper Tim Paine and Indian bowler Ravichandran Ashwin.

Adam Gilchrist still shakes his head at the sledge from Paine that ultimately backfired in a big way.

“I can still remember the words of … Tim Paine in the Test (at the SCG), saying, ‘Can’t wait to get you at the Gabba’ to Ashwin,” Gilchrist said.

“I mean, it was not Painey’s fault. I’ve said some silly things in my time out on the cricket field and off the cricket field. But that was echoing around the ground (at the Gabba) as India celebrated, wasn’t it?”

It was a Test that will be remembered for several reason, not least the cameo by debutant Will Pucovski, who scored a fine 62 before falling LBW to Navdeep Saini.

But he badly injured his shoulder while fielding in the second innings and, after several severe concussions, was advised to retire in September aged 26. It is a cricket tragedy that it proved the Victorian’s only Test.

Gill and the human wall Pujura both made half-centuries in their first innings, but the Aussies were able to take a 94-run lead into the second innings as they sought a pivotal win courtesy of Steve Smith’s century.

With Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green all in the runs, the Aussies declared at 6-312, setting India a target of 412 to win with well over a day left to play.

The Indians absorbed sustained pressure and soaked up the overs. Bazball, or the Indian version of it, was yet to be invented. Instead this was an innings of immense defiance and defensive grit.

Rohit Sharma made 52 from 98 balls. Gill continued his emergence with 31 from 64 deliveries. Pujara wore body blows but made 77 from 207 deliveries as he sought to tire the Aussie quicks.

Pant was already a star for India, having become the first wicketkeeper for his nation to score a century when touring Australia, and was excellent again in Sydney.

But when Hazlewood secured Pujara, India were 5-272 in the 88th over and needed to survive at least another 40 overs to ensure a draw.

Few could have predicted the resilience of Hanuma Vihari, who blocked and blocked and blocked on the way to scoring 23 from 161 balls, or that man Ashwin, made a defiant 39 from 128 balls.

In a bid to unsettle the veteran spinner, who had the better of their duels between bat and ball, Paine told Ashwin; “I can’t wait to get you to the Gabba, Ashwin. We’ll see you there.”

The Indian responded by telling Paine that a visit to the sub-continent would end his career.

“There was a lot of controversy, a lot of chirp, from Tim Paine in particular,” Vaughan said.

The headlines surrounding that verbal altercation overshadowed what proved to be a critical step towards success for India, and it was a masterful tactical ploy according to O’Keeffe. In all, India survived for 131 overs after batting 100 overs in the first innings.

“They held them out and soaked a lot of petrol out of the Australian pacemen,” he said.

“And that was the strategy throughout that tour, to take petrol out of Starc, Cummins and Hazlewood, and keep Lyon at bay.”

THE DAY INDIA PUT AN END TO ‘FORTRESS GABBA’