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India thump Aussies, take series 2-1; Regain Border-Gavaskar Trophy

by IBNS 28 Mar 2017, 08:59 am

Dharamshala, Mar 28 (IBNS): The Indian Test juggernaut rolled on, thumping Australia on the way, as the home side won the last Test and took the series 2-1.

India were 1-0 down after the end of the first Test, which they lost by a margin of 333 runs, but came back strongly in the ensuing game, thumping the Kangaroos by 87 runs.

The third Test in Ranchi held in balance for most part of the match, only to swing in favour of the home side on the fourth day.

A dogged partnership between Peter Handscomb and Shaun Marsh though allowed the Aussies to hoodwink the Indians and stop a certain defeat.

The series was pretty even going into the last Test.

Even though there was a lot of banter and strong words exchanged between the two teams, the high point was Virat Kohli's injury, which he sustained in the Ranchi Test.

Kohli, who wasn't '100 percent fit' opted out of the Test match in Dharamshala, inviting criticism from several former Aussie players.

As Ajinkya Rahane, the stand in skipper lost the toss on a seemingly good batting track, the script was set, only for Australia to falter in the later part of the day.

Umesh struck early with the ball, removing Matthew Renshaw for a paltry score, in a rare case of failure for the 19-year old, in the series.

In another rare instance, David Warner finally managed to convert his start in the series, scoring a patient half century.

But it was Steve Smith and his sublime form that did the bulk of the scoring for the Aussies.

Through the series, Smith was the only batsman from the visiting side, who managed to score runs at will. 

The Aussie skipper ended the series with 499 runs, scoring three centuries, and tormenting the Indian bowlers. 

Smith, likewise scripted another century here, but ran short of partners and eventually lost his wickets.

The Aussies were bowled out for 300 runs, courtesy a debutant, Kuldeep Yadav. 

Kuldeep, who incidentally became the first Chinaman (left arm unorthodox) bowler to represent India, snapped four wickets, breaking the Aussie backbone and restricting them to the 300 run mark total.

India too were struggling and had lost 6 wickets, trailing by almost 70 runs, but a 96 runs partnership between Wriddhiman Saha and Ravindra Jadeja helped them surge past the Aussie total.

However they were bowled out for 332 runs.

Batting second with a deficit of 32 runs, Australia lost 3 wickets before levelling the score and taking a lead.

With the Indian quicks bouncing out the visiting batsman and spinners striking at regular intervals, the Aussies were bundled out for 137 runs, setting India a target of 106 runs.

The Indian batsmen set out with caution and forged a 46-run partnership for the opening stand, but lost a couple of wickets in a space of three overs, handing Australia the initiative.

However, a quickfire 50 odd runs partnership between Rahane and Rahul sealed the game for the hosts.

In the end, Indian won by eight wickets and reclaimed the border Gavaskar Trophy.

Ravindra Jadeja was adjudged the Man of the Series and the Man of the Match.

This was also the last Test match for India in their home season, as they managed to win 10 of the 13 matches.

This is also Virat Kohli's ninth consecutive series win as a captain.


(Writing by Sudipto Maity)