India
breach Fortress Gabba
Brisbane: "I think a drawn series will be worse than the loss a couple of years ago," former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting said on Monday. However, the Indian team on Tuesday went one step further as they came out with one of the best Day Five batting performances to beat Australia by three wickets in the fourth and final Test at The Gabba, thereby winning the four-match Border-Gavaskar series 2-1.
Chasing a mammoth target of 328 on the final day of the
match, that too at a venue where Australia had not tasted defeat in last 32
years, India rode on brilliant half centuries of Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and
Cheteshwar Pujara to register one of India's most historic win in Test cricket.
When India scored the winning runs, Pant remained unbeaten on 89, alongside Navdeep Saini at 0.
Resuming the day at 4/0, Australia entered favourites and gave India an early blow as Rohit Sharma got out after scoring just seven. Sharma edged one behind to Tim Paine off the bowling of Pat Cummins at team's score of 18.
However, Gill and Pujara then shared a brilliant 114-run partnership during the course of which both collected runs at a brisk pace. While Gill was the more aggressive batsman of the duo, Pujara batted in his usual self, coping numerous blows on his helmet and hands but not giving up.
Gill, who scored his second half century, looked all set to register his maiden, well-deserved Test hundred before he got out for 91 against Nathan Lyon — who was playing his 100th Test.
Skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who came in next, looked positive right from the word go and shared a quick 35-run stand with Pujara.
Rahane, after contributing with 24 off just 22 balls to India's total, however got out caught behind against Pat Cummins.
India then sent in Pant, instead of Mayank Agarwal, clearly signalling their intentions of going for the win.
Pujara and Pant stitched a 61-run partnership before India's batting mainstay got out after playing a gritty, magnificent knock of 56 runs, which came off 211 balls.
Agarwal (9 off 15) then added 37 runs and once again put India in the ascendency. However, the right-handed batsman got out at team's score of 265, with India still needing 63 runs to win.
Washington Sundar, who had scored valuable 62 runs in the first innings, then came out all guns blazing and scored quick-fire 22 runs before getting bowled by Lyon, with India still needing 10.
Shardul Thakur, India's unlikely batting hero in the first innings having scored 67 runs, then got out after scoring just two.
However, the work was almost done by then and Pant fittingly scored the winning boundary as India became the first team to beat Australia at The Gabba in over 32 years.
India had scored 336 in their first innings in reply to Australia's 369. The visitors then bowled out Australia for 294 in their second innings, thus setting themselves a target of 328.
The hosts had won the first Test of the series in Adelaide, while bowling out India with the pink ball for their lowest Test total of 36. The Rahane-led side, however, registered a stunning comeback in Melbourne, winning the Boxing Day Test by eight wickets. The third Test then ended in an epic draw in Sydney.
India, under Virat Kohli, in 2018-19 tour of Australia, had become the first Asian team to win a Test series Down Under. IANS
Gabba's Record:
West Indies were the last one to beat Australia at Gabba.
In all, Australia had won 40 out of the 62 games they played at the venue prior to this match, losing just eight.
Four of those losses have come against England while three came against West Indies, the last of which was in 1988. One came against New Zealand.
India have played seven matches, losing five, drawing one and winning the one in the ongoing series.
This is also the first time Australia have not won at The Gabba since 2012.
Back in November 2012, they had drawn against South Africa. Following that draw, they beat England (twice), India, New Zealand, Pakistan (twice) and Sri Lanka.
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SCORBOARD |
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|
AUSTRALIA : 1st innings: 369, India : 1st innings: 336 Australia: 2nd innings: 294 |
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|
iNDIA: 2nd innings: |
||||||
|
Rohit Sharma |
c Paine b Cummins |
7 |
||||
|
Shubman Gill |
c Smith b Lyon |
91 |
||||
|
Cheteshwar Pujara |
lbw b Cummins |
56 |
||||
|
*Ajinkya Rahane |
c Paine b Cummins |
24 |
||||
|
Rishabh Pant
|
not out |
89 |
||||
|
Mayank Agarwal |
c Wade b Cummins |
9 |
||||
|
Washington Sundar
|
b Lyon |
22 |
||||
|
Shardul Thakur |
c Lyon b Hazlewood |
2 |
||||
|
Navdeep Saini |
not out |
0
|
||||
|
Extras: 29; Total: |
329-7 (97) |
|||||
|
FOW: Rohit (18-1, 8.2), Gill (132-2, 48), Rahane (167-3, 56.5), Pujara (228-4, 80.3), Agarwal (265-5, 86.4), Sundar (318-6, 95.5), Thakur (325-7, 96.4) |
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|
Bowling: |
||||||
|
Mitchell Starc |
16 |
0 |
75 |
0 |
||
|
Josh Hazlewood |
22 |
5 |
74 |
1 |
||
|
Pat Cummins |
14 |
10 |
55 |
4 |
||
|
Cameron Green |
3 |
1 |
10 |
0 |
||
|
Nathan Lyon |
31 |
7 |
85 |
2 |
||
|
Marnus Labuschagne |
1 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
||
Overjoyed at Team India's success in Australia: PM Modi
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lauded Team India's historic Test series win in Australia, saying the entire nation is overjoyed at the success of Ajinkya Rahane-led side who showed remarkable energy and passion throughout the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
"We are all overjoyed at the success of the Indian cricket team in Australia. Their remarkable energy and passion was visible throughout. So was their stellar intent, remarkable grit and determination. Congratulations to the team! Best wishes for your future endeavours," Modi said in a tweet.
"EVERY SESSION WE DISCOVERED A NEW HERO. Every time we got hit, we stayed put & stood taller. We pushed boundaries of belief to play fearless but not careless cricket. Injuries & uncertainties were countered with poise & confidence. One of the greatest series wins! Congrats India," said legendary Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar.
Virat Kohli, team's regular captain, also lauded the performance of the team and tweeted: "WHAT A WIN!!! Yessssss. To everyone who doubted us after Adelaide, stand up and take notice. Exemplary performance but the grit and determination was the standout for us the whole way. Well done to all the boys and the management. Enjoy this historic feat lads. Cheers." IANS
Really
proud of each & every individual in team: Rahane
Brisbane: Extremely jubilant with team's emphatic win in Brisbane, stand-in India skipper Ajinkya Rahane on Tuesday heaped praise on the individuals within the team for the character that they showed during the course of the four-match series against Australia.
"It means a lot to us. I don't know how to describe this, but our boys showed a lot of character and determination after the Adelaide Test," Rahane said at the post-match presentation.
"I'm really proud of each and every individual," he added.
Rahane further praised the young India players — Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur.
"Taking 20 wickets was the key, so we opted for five bowlers. Sundar brought the balance in place of (Ravindra) Jadeja," said Rahane while revealing that the team always wanted to play with five bowlers. IANS
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RECORDS IN NUMBERS |
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2 - Bigger targets chased by India in Tests. This is also the fifth-highest successful chase in Australia. In the last 20 years, only South Africa have chased down a higher total in Australia, when they scored 414 at Perth in 2008. 32 - Years since Australia lost at the Gabba. Last time they lost was against West Indies in 1988. In between these two defeats, Australia went unbeaten for 31 Tests. The only other venue to witness a longer streak is Karachi, where Pakistan remained unbeaten for 34 successive Tests between 1955 and 2000. 3 - Previous instances in which a team has come back from losing the first Test of a series to beat Australia in Australia. On all the three occasions, it was England - in 1882-83, 1911-12 and 1954-55 - who managed that. 1 - Instance of a higher score by a wicketkeeper than Rishabh Pant's unbeaten 89 in the fourth innings of a Test. Adam Gilchrist scored 149 not out against Pakistan at Hobart. Pant finished the series with 274 runs - the most for India in the series. Pant now averages 87 in the fourth innings of a Test. Only Bruce Mitchell from South Africa averages more with a cut off of 300 runs. 3 - Batsmen scoring 50-plus in the fourth innings of a Test for India. This has happened 13 times for India so far but this is the first occasion they managed it in successive Tests. Last time three Indian batsmen scored at least a half-century in the fourth innings in SENA was in England in 2002. 928 - Balls faced by Cheteshwar Pujara in this Test series, the fifth-most by any visiting batsmen in Australia in four or fewer Tests. Three of the top five batsmen are Indians, with Pujara's 2018-19 series at the top with 1258 deliveries. 27 - Innings taken by Pant to reach 1000 Test runs, the fastest for an Indian wicketkeeper. He went past MS Dhoni's mark of 32 innings. 2 - Series won by India in Australia. Among the subcontinent teams, only India have won a series in Australia. Australia's record: series played 34, won 26, drawn 6, and lost 2. 2015 - The last instance when two consecutive Tests had the same result in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy when the third and fourth Test were draws. The last three series between these two teams have ended 2-1 in India's favour with the series alive going into the final Test. 5 - Unbeaten Tests for Rahane as India's captain. It's early days yet but only nine players have led in five or more Tests and not lost a single one. Rahane is the only Indian on this list. |
Andhra CM hails India
after fairytale victory at Gabba
Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has congratulated the Indian cricket team for winning the fourth Test against Australia at the Gabba on Tuesday.
"What a magnificent victory! Hearty congratulations to Team India for breaching the Gabba fortress after three decades. An outstanding display of prowess and perseverance, that has made the entire nation proud today," said Reddy. IANS
2-0 win over England may seal India's spot in WTC final
Brisbane: India on Tuesday moved to the top of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) standings — both on percentage points and points — following their remarkable 2-1 series win over Australia.
New Zealand are at the second spot with 70 percentage points and 420 points while Australia are at the third spot with 69.2 percentage points and 332 points.
The top two teams qualify for the WTC final match in June at Lord's, London.
India now have 71.7 percentage points won and 430 points. Percentage points determine the final placings rather than total points won after a change to the points system owing to the Covid-19 disruption of the global cricket schedule.
"India on top. After the hard-fought win at the Gabba, India move to the No.1 spot in ICC WTC standings. Australia slip to No.3," ICC tweeted after India's historic win in Brisbane on Tuesday.
India now only need to win the upcoming home four-match Test series against England, beginning February 5, with a 2-0 margin to seal a spot in the WTC final. If they lose one Test against England though, they will need to win three matches.
New Zealand have no series scheduled till June.
For Australia, the series defeat has dented their chances heavily of making the top two. They will need 89 points from the three-Test series against South Africa — which is yet to be confirmed — to go past the Black Caps and seal the second spot in the WTC standings. That can only happen if they win at least two Tests and draw the third, in which case they will get 93 points from the series, as per ESPNcricinfo. IANS
Rs 5 crore bonus for Team India
Brisbane: The Indian cricket board (BCCI) on Tuesday announced a Rs 5 crore bonus for the Indian team following their win over Australia in the fourth Test.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah made the announcement in tweets after the end of the match.
"Just a remarkable win...To go to Australia and win a test series in this way...will be remembered in the history of indian cricket forever ..Bcci announces a 5 cr bonus for the team .The value of this win is beyond any number...well done to every member of the touring party..." said Ganguly in his tweet. IANS