Agencies
Ahmedabad
The last day of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 saw India win the series 2-1 after Australia batters held out for a draw at Ahmedabad.
With this result, India have secured their place in the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval starting on June 7, after a thrilling last-ball win for New Zealand ended Sri Lanka’s push for a top-two finish.
The final day of the fourth Test of the series began with the tourists 88 runs behind the India total. Rohit Sharma tossed the ball to his trusted bowlers, Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammad Shami.
And soon enough, Ashwin provided a breakthrough by trapping the makeshift opener Matthew Kuhnemann lbw. This however proved to be a false dawn, as Travis Head (90) and Marnus Labuschagne (63*) ensured that the India attack laboured on a true batting surface.
The duo pretty much ended chances of an India victory by batting out almost 50 overs, before Head fell to a beauty from Axar Patel.
This was Patel’s 50th Test wicket. He became the fastest Indian player to reach the landmark (in terms of balls bowled).
Post-tea, a draw seemed to be the only result possible. With the game meandering nowhere, the sides shook hands in the 79th over of Australia’s innings.
Virat Kohli won the Player of the Match award for his stunning 186 at Ahmedabad. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were the joint-winners of the Player of the Series award. Both made crucial all-round contributions: Ashwin picked 25 wickets and scored 86 runs, while Jadeja picked 22 wickets and scored 135 runs.
With this draw, India took the series 2-1. This is India’s fourth successive Test series win over Australia.
Overall, India have won 10 out of 16 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
They have now won their last 16 Test series at home.
India have secured their place in the ICC World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval starting on June 7, after a thrilling last-ball win for New Zealand ended Sri Lanka’s push for a top-two finish.
India’s destructive start to their Test series at home against Australia means their worst possible WTC points percentage is now 57%, assuming there are no penalty points against them for a poor over rate in the fourth Test against Australia in Ahmedabad.
Sri Lanka were initially hampered by rain and then unable to bowl out New Zealand on day five of the first Test in Christchurch, meaning Dimuth Karunaratne’s side can now finish with a best possible WTC points percentage of 53% even if they win the second Test.
Taking a 2-1 series lead in the opening three of four Tests at home against Australia proved to be enough for Rohit Sharma’s side to clinch their spot in the WTC final, though to put the icing on the cake they are on track to avoid defeat in the fourth Test and win the Border-Gavaskar series outright.
India began their campaign for the cycle in England, taking a 2-1 lead in their series against Joe Root’s men, before the fifth Test was postponed until 2022 due to Covid.
They would go on to lose the fifth Test match in Birmingham, though strong home series against New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh set up their charge to the WTC final.
Their Border-Gavaskar series win sets up a final against Australia on neutral ground at The Oval in London beginning on June 7, with the winner claiming the World Test Championship mace.
India lost the inaugural World Test Championship final to New Zealand in 2021, as Kane Williamson’s side chased down a target of 139 in Southampton.
Rohit Sharma, skipper of the Indian team was elated after India sealed their spot in the final. He said, "We are delighted to qualify for our second successive World Test Championship Final. We have played some outstanding cricket both home and away in the last two years and I am proud of my team and their unwavering commitment to success in Test cricket which is one of the main reasons for our qualification.”
Anticipating a tough contest against Australia, Rohit added, "We will soon turn our focus on the Ultimate Test at The Oval which is one of the most iconic Test venues in the world. Australia will definitely come hard at us in the final and it should make for an enthralling contest that will be enjoyed by five-day cricket fans from around the world.”
The Indian captain was also confident about their chances of winning the mace, stating, "India have always enjoyed excellent support in England and I am confident that we will have a big turnout of Indian fans from 7 June once we begin our quest for the ICC World Test Championship Mace, we are determined to win the championship and improve on our performance at Southampton two years ago.”
Scores
Australia 480 (Khawaja 180, Ashwin 6-91) & 175-2 dec (Head 90, Labuschagne 63*) vs India 571 (Kohli 186, S Gill 128).
Match Drawn; India won series 2-1.