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'Your spirit broke Australia's back': Coach Ravi Shastri's fiery dressing room speech after Gabba victory

Ravi Shastri especially appreciated batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara, who took blows to his body but stayed firm, Rishabh Pant's extraordinary strokeplay, and young opener Shubman Gill's calm counter-attack

The BCCI shared Shastri's emotional speech which has received 49,000 likes and more than 5,000 retweets.

Indian cricket team's head coach Ravi Shastri described the victory of the injury-hit team over Australia as "unreal". His around three-minute-long speech in the dressing room after the conquest of Gabba is winning the internet.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BBCI) shared Shastri's emotional speech which has received 49,000 likes and more than 5,000 retweets.

"It is the toughest tour ever. Nothing surpasses this. After 36 all out, this is unreal. The courage, the resolve, the spirit, that you guys have shown is unreal. Not for once you were down, injuries, 36 all out (in the first Test), you had the self-belief in you," Shastri said with captain Ajinkya Rahane standing calmly by his side.

"It doesn't come overnight but now that you have this self-belief, you can see where you have taken a game as a team. Today forget India, the whole world will stand up and salute you. So remember what you guys have done today. You need to enjoy this moment, don't let it just go away, enjoy as much as you can," advised the young team.

Shastri especially appreciated batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara, who took blows to his body but stayed firm, Rishabh Pant's extraordinary strokeplay, and young opener Shubman Gill's calm counter-attack.

"Shubman great, great. Puji you will be known as the ultimate warrior," said Shastri. "And Rishabh, simply outstanding. The way you were batting, you gave heart attacks to a few every moment but what you have done is magnificent," he added.

He also told to whistles for young pacer Mohammed Siraj, and applause from the team.

He appreciated Captain Rahane for being able "to lead the side from the position that we were in and to make them bounce back in the middle the way you had, simply superb".

Shastri applauded T Natarajan, the net bowler who became a front-liner, and the duo of Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur.

"...in this Test match, I would not want to forget is three debutants and their performances in that first innings. Nattu, Washi, and I say Shardul because he was injured in the first Test he played (in 2018)".

"For you to show that spirit, that's what broke the back of Australia, more than anything else, that we could come back and get 330 or 340 on this wicket after being 180/6," he said.

"I had tears because this is unreal. What these guys have pulled off will go down in history as one of the greatest series ever played," said the veteran of 80 Tests.

India will take on England in their next Test assignment scheduled to start from February 5.