India breaches the Aussie Fortress | India vs Australia 4th Test Match Review |

 

Rarely do you see people gathering around watching test cricket with so much interest and hype. One could feel the nervousness in the air and cut the tension with a knife as each and every ball was bowled. The anticipation of billions of fans grew as the final match went down the wire. You could feel millions of silent prayers hoping India somehow, in some way, manages to pull out a miracle. Somehow, they manage to breach the Australian fortress, somehow they manage to overpower their pace attack and somehow, become immortal in the history books. 

How did it all unfold? Read the full article to find out just how.

Playing XI : India had to make several changes because of the ongoing injury crisis in the Indian camp with Jadeja, Bumrah, Ashwin and Vihari being unavailable. Mayank Agarwal and Shardul Thakur were back in the side as T Natarajan and Washington Sundar made their debuts. Australia was forced to replace Pucovski who was out with an injury with Marcus Harris. 

Australia 1st Innings : LABUSCHAGNE & CO. WELCOME THE INEXPERIENCED PACE ATTACK TO THE GABBA

Opting to bat first yet again after winning the toss, the Kangaroos had a shaky start to their innings. Warner (1) and Harris (5) were dismissed early on in the innings by Siraj and Thakur respectively which sent a message to the Aussies that the Indians, though inexperienced, had come to play. Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith made a 70 run partnership before Smith was dismissed for 36 by debutant Sundar. Labuschagne continued his batting masterclass building up two 113-run partnerships with one Matthew Wade and then Cameron Green before scoring yet another century. Labuschagne's innings was halted at 108 by debutant Natarajan. Matthew Wade, Cameron Green and Tim Paine all made decent cameos with the willow, with scores of 45,47 and 50 respectively. The Aussie tail added a few valuable runs to the tally before Australia was bowled out for 369 on Day 2. The Indian bowlers, despite lacking the main stream exposure, toiled hard for their hard earned wickets. Sundar, Thakur and Natarajan each took 3 wickets a piece as India had a giant task ahead of them.

India 1st Innings : THE SHARDUL-SUNDAR SHOW

Following the 369 runs scored by the Australians is never easy but the Indians were determined to do well. The Australians got the first laugh as Gill was dismissed early by Cummins for 7. Rohit and Pujara settled themselves in the pitch and played some decent cricketing shots. It was going all well and good until Rohit played a terrible shot off Nathan Lyon, throwing his wicket away at 44. The Kangaroos kept striking at regular intervals, not letting the Indians make any 50+ partnership. All the middle order batsmen had decent starts to their innings but none could make it big. Pujara (25), Rahane (37), Mayank (38) and Pant (23) were all dismissed by Hazlewood and Starc as India was looking in trouble at 186-6. One must not give up on a team until the very last ball is bowled and as they often say, "Desperate times call for desperate measures", thus began the Sundar-Thakur Saga. The duo batted with great vigour and passion, adding a whopping 123 runs to the total. Shardul Thakur (67) and Washington Sundar (62) scored their maiden test half-centuries by taking minimal risks and playing quality shots, some of which would have put pure batsmen to shame. Their never give up attitude fueled India's innings to reach a respectable total of 336 runs, falling short of just 33 runs from what they were asked to play for. Josh Hazlewood was the pick amongst the bowlers picking up a 5 wicket haul, finishing with figures of 24.4-6-57-5 as Cummins and Starc grabbed two wickets a piece.

Australia 2nd Innings : SIRAJ REPLIES TO HAZLEWOOD WITH A FIFER OF HIS OWN

After putting up a decent fight in the first innings, India had to restrict the Australians within the 250-300 run range; if they wanted to keep their hopes of winning alive and the Indian bowlers were ready to face what was ahead of them. The Aussies had a fairly good start to their innings with a solid 87-run partnership between Dave Warner (48) and Marcus Harris (38). From cruising at 89-0 to struggling at 123-4, the Aussies seemed to lose their way in the middle as 4 wickets fell in quick succession; courtesy Shardul Thakur and Mohammad Siraj. Steve Smith and Cameron Green took charge of the proceedings as the duo batted with grit and solid technique putting up a 71-run stand in the process. After Smith's dismissal for 55, skipper Tim Paine (27)  added much needed runs to the total with young Cameron Green (37) and then Cummins (28*) as Australia were bowled out for 294. The Indian bowlers bowled with exemplary character and showed positive intent on the field even though not all things were going on their favour. Mohammad Siraj was the pick amongst the bowlers as he registered his career best figures of 19.5-5-73-5. Shardul Thakur also registered figures of 19-2-61-4 as India was set to chase 328 runs in order to win the match and the series.

India 2nd Innings : A FAIRYTALE ENDING

Chasing 328 in day 5 Australian conditions against their world class pace attack and the scorching Australian heat is never easy but the Indian players were in no mood to let go off the match. The crowd in Brisbane was all set to witness history unfold and thus the action started. India lost Rohit Sharma early for 7 to Cummins as Pujara and Gill took over the proceedings. The teacher-student duo put up a 114-run partnership and while Gill was playing  his confident shots all over the ground, Pujara stood in the middle like a pillar giving the bowlers a hard time. Shubman Gill missed out on a well deserved century as he was dismissed by Nathan Lyon for 91. Skipper Ajinkya was next and he made his intentions clear when he stepped out of his crease and slammed Lyon for a 92m six. Aggressive cricket followed next before the skipper was dismissed for 24 by Cummins shortly after. Rishabh Pant joined the party and took his time in order to set himself to the pitch. He played good shots and took minimal risks while Pujara was having a nightmarish time in the middle, facing mean bouncers one after the other from the relentless Aussie pacers. Pujara's gritty innings of 56 (211) came to an end by Pat Cummins as Agarwal (9) was dismissed shortly after by him as well.  Australia still had some fight left in them. Washington Sundar arrived next and the two former U-19 teammates batted together confidently, despite the asking rate. The duo added a 53-run partnership before Washi was dismissed by Lyon. Shardul couldn't repeat his heroics from the first innings as well, falling prey to Hazlewood for 2. But this last gush from mighty Australia wasn't enough to stop India as Rishabh Pant finished the game with a boundary to help India retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Pant's sheer perfect knock of 89* was just what the doctor ordered for India and it came in very handy towards the end. On the other hand, the Australian bowlers bowled with all their might but India were just too good for them. Pat Cummins registered figures of 24-10-55-4 as Lyon and Hazlewood were amongst the wicket-takers as well. 

Conclusion : Feeble are my words as no one can do justice to the heroics of not only the 11 men but the entire squad who played this historic test series. Within a month, India lived through the lowest of lows to the highest of highs. From being bowled out for 36 at Adelaide, coming back in the series with a win at Melbourne, surviving an almost certain defeat at Sydney to then coming back stronger than ever and humbling the Aussies in their "Mecca", Brisbane. Despite the innumerable injuries, decisions going against their favour and ongoing racial allegations from the players to the fans, this team showed the vigour and played with great determination. It was a formidable performance by a formidable team. Hats off. Goosebumps all around. This has to be one of the most enthrilling scripts of test cricket ever written and kudos to the Indians for standing up despite the challenges. They really are the deserved winners and each and every one of them is a champion of their own.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the winners of the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy : TEAM INDIA 🇮🇳.