India wrapped up the fourth test match vs Australia in the fourth day itself and reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar trophy. Australia once again showed its inability to finish games after yet another strong start. Indian Captain Virat Kohli missed his first test match after 54 games. Ajinkya Rahane stepped up as the captain for the game. With the win against Australia, Rahane became the 9th Indian Captain to win his first test match. Virat Kohli on the other hand, played his part in the game as the 12th man.
Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav made his debut in the test match becoming the first Left-arm chinaman bowler to play for the Indian team.
Steve Smith yet again won the toss for Australia and decided to bat first. After Pacer Umesh yadav bowled out opener Matt Renshaw, Captain Steve Smith stepped up and scored another century against India. Opener David Warner and Keeper Matthew Wade also contributed with half centuries for Australia. Debutante Kuldeep Yadav shined for India picking up 4 wickets in the first innings.
Australia set a target of 300 for India in the first innings. A score which should have been easy to beat became difficult for India due to one man, Nathan Lyon. The spinner Lyon picked up important wickets of Pujara and Captain Rahane and a total of 5 wickets for 92 runs. A late stand by Ravnindra Jadeja helped India post a lead of 32 runs.
The match turned around for India in the in Australia’s second innings. The combined trio of pacer Umesh Yadav, Ravichandra Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja unleashed hell on the Australian team. Only 5 out of the 11 players managed to make it to double digit score for Australia. Thus, the Australian second innings wrapped up for a paltry 137 runs.
India looked to wrap the game up easily requiring just 100 runs to win the series. Australia did manage to give a scare when they picked up Murali Vijay’s wicket and Cheteshwara Pujara’s in consecutive overs. KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane steered India home easily.
With the win, India retained its top spot in test cricket as well as reclaimed the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
