India defeated Australia by 8 wickets in the fourth and final test at Dharmasala, today, to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1.
The Border–Gavaskar Trophy is a Test cricket series, played between India and Australia.
The match took place at a picturesque cricket stadium, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, (HPCA) stadium, located in the city of Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh.
Australia has set India a target of 106, with three Indian bowlers picking up three-wicket hauls.
Murali Vijay (8), who endured a tough time before Pat Cummins, ended his misery by having him caught behind with a good out, swinging with India still 60 runs short of victory.
India's highest run scorer in this series, Cheteshwar Pujara, was then run out for a duck, with a direct hit from Glenn Maxwell.
This indeed lifted Australia's spirits.
But, the two players Ajinkya and Rahul ensured, there were no great alarms after India had lost Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara in quick succession.
Opener KL Rahul remained 51 not out, while stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane hammered a rapid unbeaten 38 off 27 balls, that nailed the series.
After losing the first Test match comprehensively, the Men in Blue came back strongly in the second Test.
The third Test ended in a draw as both teams went into the last Test match.
With the Indian openers – Murali Vijay and KL Rahul – knocking off 19 of 106, the home team was expecting the match to win comfortably.
Apart from batting, it was India's bowling that ruled the roost in the Dharamsala Test.
A terrific display of fast bowling from Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar left the Australians hopping on the ground.
The spinners then took charge to dismantle the rest of the visiting batting line-up.
The Australian’s hopes evaporated in their second innings after Umesh Yadav, Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin decimated their batting.
After bowling out Australia for 300, India took the lead and bowled out the visitors for 137 in the second innings.
Dharamsala Test, is the first win for Ajinkya Rahane as India’s Captain, who was leading for the first time in Virat Kohli’s absence.
After six weeks of drama, comebacks and controversies, India came out to be the ultimate winners and proved why the Men in Blue are the No.1 side in the world.
Brief scores: India 332 & 106/2 (Rahul 51*, Rahane 38*: Cummins 1/42) beat Australia (300 & 137) by 8 wickets to win series 2-1.
By Supraja
