New Delhi:
Host India defeated Australia by eight wickets in Dharamsala Test to clinch the Border-Gavaskar series.
India who came into the Test series with an unbeaten 19 match streak at home were given a tough fight by the Aussies who stunned them by winning the series opener at Pune. India made a sensational comeback by winning the Bangalore Test before forging a close fought draw against the Kangaroos at Ranchi. It came down to the wire in Dharamsala where the Indians led by Ajinkya Rahane stepped up their game in the absence of their regular Test captain Virat Kohli and combined well as a unit to win the Test match.
India's series win against the Aussies cements their position at the very top of the ICC Test rankings and they shall finish as the number-one Test team at the end of the season.Ravindra Jadeja was awarded the Man of the Match and the allrounder also bagged the Player of the series award.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy: India vs Australia, Dharamsala Test
Match Report
Game. Set. Match...#TeamIndia win the Decider Test by 8 wickets. Claim the 4-match series 2-1 #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/UkpNLqNShH
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 28, 2017
CHAMPIONS!!! #TeamIndia #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/2R1b1TDBoX
— BCCI (@BCCI) March 28, 2017
The Australians put up a competitive 300 total in their first innings on Day 1 courtesy a century by their skipper Steve Smith and useful contributions from opener David Warner and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade. The Aussies looked good for much more but debutant Kuldeep Yadav's four wickets restricted the Aussies from setting up a formidable total.
The series! India survive an Australia fightback to win the 4th Test by 8 wickets and win the #IndvAus series 2-1: https://t.co/BaRXroD8NZ pic.twitter.com/qmM3h0M1U8
— ICC (@ICC) March 28, 2017
In reply, India looked in a very comfortable position at one stage with half-centuries from KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara before seamer Pat Cummins wrecked the Indian middle order with a sensational spell. India's recovery was led by captain Ajinkya Rahane who held ground when Aussies off-spinner Nathan Lyon dented the Indian middle order. Ravindra Jadeja and Wriddhiman Saha forged together a valiant 96-run partnership to help India gain a slender but crucial 32 run lead.
Well done #TeamIndia! Great win. Congratulations on the series win! #IndvAus
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) March 28, 2017
Indian seamers Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar then bowled a magical spell to get rid of the dangerous Aussies openers and their in-form captain Steve Smith.Ravindra Jadeja then cast his web by picking up wickets in quick succession to leave the Australians reeling. Glen Maxwell and Matthew Wade provided some resistance before R Ashwin got into the act and send them packing. Indian were clearly in the drivers seat after being set a below-par target of 106 runs.
Great character shown by this Indian team especially after losing the first test ðŸ‘👠well deserve series win @BCCI #INDvAUS #TeamIndia
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) March 28, 2017
Openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay were equal to the task by helping the hosts get off a breezy start.There seemed to be a twist in the tail towards the end as India lost their dependable opener Murali Vijay for 8 followed by avoidable Pujara runout.However KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane prevented any further slip up as they steered the hosts across the line for a memorable series win.
Full Coverage | India vs Australia: Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2017
