Bandon Mein Tha Dum truly depicts the tale of resilience which the Indian players showed during their historic Test series win over Australia in 2020-21. Helmed by director Neeraj Pandey of M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story fame, the docuseries of the iconic win has the potential to take you back to the hair-raising moment when Rishabh Pant hit Josh Hazlewood to long-off for a boundary which breached Australia’s fortress Gabba.
The four-episode documentary series is narrated by versatile Bollywood actor Jimmy Shergil with appearances from several Indian stars including Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar and Mohammed Siraj. There’s some representation from the Aussie camp as well with their then captain Tim Paine and pace ace Pat Cummins recalling anecdotes.
Shergil has done a fine job narrating the tale but one gets a feeling that there could have been a little more intensity when describing tense moments. Otherwise, he manages to enthrall the viewers with his commanding voice-over. Rahane, who was the captain of the Indian camp for three Tests, leads his team here once again as he shares several previously unknown stories of what was going around in the background.
When everything was against them, they stood tall and showed the world their true grit, strength and determination.
Neeraj Pandey’s Bandon Mein Tha Dum – The fight for India’s pride.#BandonMeinThaDum #ImpossibleStory #FightForPrideOnVoot #VootSelect pic.twitter.com/Yndx5KtB3Z
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Episode 1 – Skyfall
The opening episode is a sore point for every cricket fan in India where they witness their team getting bundled out for 36 in Adelaide – their lowest in Test history. Rahane is the centre of attraction during the episode where he sheds light on how the run-out of Virat Kohli in the first innings, which happened due to him, changed the momentum completely in Australia’s favour. Kohli, who was the India captain at that time, was granted paternity leave after the first Test and his deputy Rahane took over the charge from there on for the remainder of the tour.
Episode 2 – You Only Live Twice
“When you are back against the wall, break the goddamn thing down,” – India entered the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground with that philosophy for the Boxing Day Test which is clearly depicted in the documentary. Everyone remembers Rahane slamming a memorable century in that contest to set the platform for India’s massive win but Bandon Mein Tha Dum reveals that he was not fully fit to bat before the innings due to a severe back strain. Director Pandey managed to bring back the memories of the historic win.
Episode 3 – A View to Kill
The penultimate episode was a tale of grit and determination displayed by the duo of Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin. How the two injured players fought hard against one of the best bowling attacks in world cricket and saved the match for India is a story to behold. The documentary very well displayed the emotions and frustrations of the Australian players which Paine and Cummins also admitted to during the episode.
Episode 4 – License to Kill
Breaching the ‘Fortress Gabba’ was not an easy task especially when you lose your original bowling attack due to injuries, but India have something else in their mind as they produced one of the best-ever performances in Test history. The series finale gave a fitting tribute to the epic win where India found a new hero in every session of the game to break Australia’s pride. Rahane was a bit emotional after the end of the episode recalling the phenomenal moment of lifting the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Ashwin is the star of the documentary with his wit and humour, while he also shared some funny anecdotes. Siraj showed his emotional side as he was recovering from the loss of his father and also dealing with the alleged racist taunts directed towards him by a section of Australian fans.
Rahane and Pujara, the two Test specialists, shared their stories and how they managed to regroup the side after Kohli left and persistent injuries kept haunting the Indian team. Pant and Sundar had their fair share of time to talk about their mindset during the crucial moments of the game.
A special mention to Paddy Upton who has earlier worked as Team India’s fitness and mental conditioning coach. After every episode, Upton talked about the mental toughness of the Indian players who faced several obstacles throughout the series but never backed down from the challenge.
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