Virat Kohli led India ended a 71-year wait for a test series triumph on Australian soil on Monday when they sealed their 2-1 series win after rain ensured that the fourth and final Test match of the series at the Sydney Cricket Ground ended in a draw.
The series might have come to damp end but the visitors dominated from the word go to claim the honors Down Under, thus becoming the first Asian side to claim the feat.
India won the first Test in Adelaide and the third Test at Melbourne which meant they couldn’t lose the series to the Baggy Greens. Cheteshwar Pujara was the star man leading the team with the bat, scoring a brilliant 193 leaving Australia with a daunting task of chasing 622-7.
While Pujara did his job with the bat, Indian spinners put the Aussies on the backfoot with Kuldeep Yadav particularly being India’s star with the ball. Australia were dismissed for 300 and Kohli didn’t think twice before enforcing follow on. For the first time in 30 years, Australia had faced such horror on home soil. In the end, the Aussies have the weather condition to thank, because it saved them from a humiliating 3-1 series defeat.
“It’s obviously a very proud moment. More so because for the last 12 months we understand what we have gone through as a team. The fact that the reward has come in the most historic series for Indian cricket is the cherry on the top of the cake. In the 10 years that I have played, it is the proudest moment that I have experienced and we’re so happy for the whole team” victorious and proud captain Virat Kohli said.
While India have plenty of positives, the hosts have much to ponder over especially after they failed to score a single century over the 4 match Test series.
I thought we actually had our chances to win the test match in Adelaide, India just outplayed us in big moments in that test. In Perth, I thought we played a very good game of cricket but when we went to Melbourne and Sydney, we’ve been outplayed in all departments” Australian captain Tim Paine said.
While some sour Aussies will be crying about the fact that their two best batsmen, Steve Smith, and David Warner were not a part of this series because of the ball-tampering ban, one cannot take away the fact that India demolished Australia down under.