The Indian Test team, led by Shubman Gill, achieved an unexpected feat when they drew the away series against hosts England 2-2. The final Test of the series saw India beat England by a narrow margin of six runs to level the series.
It has now come to light that the Indian team used the famous Shri Shiva Rudrashtakam Stotra from the Ramcharitmanas to boost their morale during the Oval Test.
As per a report in the Dainik Jagran, on Day 1 of the Test, when the Indian team lost two early wickets in their first innings, the Indian team’s throwdown specialist, Raghavendra, called Raghu by the members of the team, played the Shiva Stuti from the Ramcharitmanas in the dressing room.
This famous Stotra is attributed to Bhagwan Shri Ram who is described as having worshipped Bhagwan Shiva through it at the time of the installation of the Rameshwaram jyotirlinga. The devotional hymn is part of the Ramcharitmanas composed by the famous saint Tulsidas in the 16th century.
A source from the team told Dainik Jagran that the Indian Test unit used to listen to Hanuman Chalisa – also composed by Tulsidas – during their practice sessions. The Rudrashtakam was played in the dressing room on all five days of the Test match in the dressing room.
The source said that even though the spectacular win in the nail-biting Test cannot be solely attributed to the team listening to the Stotra, it did give the team an ‘unexpected energy’.