The Indian men’s cricket team, on Tuesday, scripted history as they won the four-test series against Australia 2-1. The team, led by stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane, achieved this feat after winning the fourth and final test of the series by three wickets at the Gabba in Brisbane. By virtue of this win, the unbeatable streak of the Australian cricket team at the Gabba stretching for 31 tests from 1988 to 2020 came to an end. It is also India’s second consecutive test series win in Australia.
From a humiliating defeat in the first test at Adelaide (where the team posted its lowest ever test score of 36) to scripting a narrow 3-wicket victory in the final test -- it has been a ‘fairy tale’ series for the visitors. With regular captain Virat Kohli leaving after the first test on paternity leave and injuries to key bowlers such as Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami, not many had expected India to come back strongly.
However, the grit and resilience of this Indian team, full of youngsters, resulted in an extremely competitive series. Unwilling to give in without a fight, the team’s attitude was noteworthy, which was evident in the way the players drew the third test in Sydney. In the fourth test at the Gabba, Team India went in with a relatively inexperienced bowling attack, including two debutants due to injuries to senior bowlers such as Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin.
The series also gave cricket fans plenty of moments to remember and recall in the coming years. Here are our top seven moments of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2021:
At 186/6, India was in a precarious position in their first innings, trailing Australia by 183 runs when Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar came together. What unfolded next can only be termed as surreal. The two bowlers forged a record partnership of 123 runs for the seventh wicket (the highest 7th wicket partnership by an Indian pair ever in Australia), each achieving their first test half-centuries also in the process. Although Shardul Thakur was eventually dismissed for 67, their partnership helped bridge the deficit between the first innings score of both the teams.
Watch the partnership here:
After Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar’s partnership in the first innings, it was Mohammad Siraj’s turn to rise to the occasion. In the second innings of Australia in the Gabba test. India aimed to bowl out Australia as soon as possible in order to ensure an easy target to chase. Mohammad Siraj, who had only played two tests till then, led from the front to claim his first five-wicket haul in tests and finished with figures of 5/73. Australia was eventually bowled out for 294 and India was given a target of 328 runs to win the match.
Siraj’s five-wicket haul can be watched here:
With a target of 327 runs to win the series, India lost its experienced opener Rohit Sharma to Pat Cummins. Undeterred, 21-year-old Shubman Gill stayed on and scored a magnificent half century as he tackled the barrage of short balls from a world-class Australian bowling line-up. He also slammed Mitchell Starc for a six and hit three consecutive boundaries in an over. Though Gill couldn’t post his century (he was dismissed by Nathan Lyon for 91), his innings made sure that India could inch closer to the target.
Watch Shubman Gill’s 91-run knock here:
After valuable contributions from Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara during the chase in the second innings at the Gabba, India’s scorecard read 167/3 when Rishabh Pant walked in. Playing fearlessly, he kept the scoreboard ticking with some lusty hits to the fence, building pressure on the Australian bowlers. Pant scored an unbeaten 89 and hit the winning runs off Josh Hazlewood. In the Sydney test as well, Pant had scored a belligerent 97 and briefly raised hopes of an unlikely Indian win.
Rishabh Pant’s match-winning knock can be watched here:
When Thangarasu Natarajan boarded the flight to Australia, he would not have dreamt of making his debut in all three formats of the game in the same series. However, injuries to the bowling spearheads Bumrah and Ashwin, resulted in T Natarajan and Washington Sundar making their test debuts at the Gabba. In his debut, the southpaw impressed everyone with a spell of 3/78, blending well with the rest of India’s bowling attack consisting of Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Sundar to dismiss Australia for 369 in their first innings.
Watch T Natarajan scalp Josh Hazlewood here:
India’s aim at Sydney was very clear -- try for a draw, as the team was chasing a huge target of 407 runs in the fourth innings with half the players back in the hut. Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari, the latter with a string of poor scores in the series, joined hands and launched a “blockathon” lasting for 131 overs as they played on and on. The duo endured searing spells from the Australian pacers as they pushed forward for a draw. Their stand of 62 runs off 259 balls helped the team earn a hard-fought draw.
With Virat Kohli departing after the first test in Adelaide on paternity leave, the onus to lead from the front was on Ajinkya Rahane. He played his role to perfection in the second test at Melbourne and posted a century, his second at the same ground after 2014. Rahane walked in with the score reading 64-3 and topped it off with his contribution of 112 runs off 223 balls. His innings propelled India to a substantial first innings-lead and eventually helped the team win, thus levelling the series.
Watch Rahane’s century here: