India beats Australia on last day of Gabba Test, winning Border-Gavaskar Trophy with remarkable run chase
India ended Australia’s unbeaten run at the Gabba, which spanned back to 1988.(AP: Tertius Pickard)
India has scored a famous victory in the Test series against Australia, chasing down 328 on the last day of the final game at the Gabba to win the series 2-1 and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
A draw would have been enough to retain the trophy for India, after their historic series victory in 2018/19, but the impressive side went all out and charged home, scoring 51 off the last five overs to win.
Explosive wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who was not picked for the first game, hit the winning runs as he completed a match-winning 89.
Late hitting from Pant and debutant Washington Sundar (22 off 29) saw the depleted tourists home, ending Australia’s unbeaten streak at the ground, which lasted more than 32 years.
As evidence of the spare-parts nature of this team, the win was set up by 91 from rookie opener Shubman Gill, who also was not picked for the series opener and was playing in just his third Test, and veteran Cheteshwar Pujara, who held off the Australian attack with a masterful 56 off 211.
It marks the third straight series win against Australia for India, and two in a row on Australian soil.
The day started with a clear objective for Australia — 10 wickets to win the match. A fast start was imperative, and it took only a few overs for Australia to find the first breakthrough when Pat Cummins found the edge of Rohit Sharma’s bat to deliver Tim Paine a simple catch.
But if the hosts thought that first wicket would lead to an avalanche, they were sorely mistaken. Joining Gill at the crease was Pujara, and together the Indian pair set out to defy Australia for the rest of the session.
Pujara was resolute in defence, while Gill played the role of the cautious aggressor. The latter played some fantastic shots, most notably when he uppercut Mitchell Starc for six over third man in the last over of the session.
The solid but steady start brought India into the game, and they carried on in the same vein after lunch. Pujara copped a barrage of short balls and wore several of them on the body — and took a few more on the helmet — but refused to give his wicket away.
Meanwhile Gill continued his attack, and after taking Starc for 20 in one particularly poor over for the out of form quick, the young opener was on track for a first Test century.
His fine innings would fall just short of the milestone though, ended by an edge to Steve Smith at first slip off a relatively straight Nathan Lyon delivery.
That brought Ajinkya Rahane to the crease, and the captain looked to keep India’s momentum going with some assertive strokeplay and aggressive running between wickets.
He raced to 24, but was undone by a Cummins short ball which kept a little low. Rahane’s attempt at a ramp over the slips resulted in nothing more than a simple catch to Paine.
India rolled the dice and brought Pant to the crease early — a clear sign of intent — and he and a battered and bruised Pujara saw India to tea with Australia still needing seven wickets, and India 145 runs for victory.
It wouldn’t have taken long after the tea break for Australia to start getting the flashbacks from Sydney, as Pant and Pujara kept them at bay for over after over.
Australia lacked urgency, and its tactics were questionable for a team that needed to win the match, but India too looked to be taking its time and not chasing the win with the same purpose it had earlier in the day.
The last hope for the Aussies was the new ball, and in the hands of Cummins, it needed only two balls to provide another twist — Pujara was finally given out lbw, and a batsman’s review showed the ball was clipping the very top of the leg bail.
As the match headed into it’s last hour, Australia thought they had Mayank Agarwal caught behind and lost a review when DRS showed no edge, but disappointment quickly turned to elation for Cummins and Australia when Agarwal drove the next ball to Matthew Wade at cover.
Needing 63 to win off 13 overs, Pant was joined at the crease by debutant Sundar, fresh off a half-century in the first innings, and both boosted the run rate.
Sundar fell with the team needing just 10 runs to win, and Shardul Thakur followed suit with three runs left, but nothing could stop Pant and India’s charge to victory.
ABC
