Dharamshala’s Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, a picturesque sporting venue, witnessed a remarkable slice of history as India defeated Australia by eight wickets to win the fourth and final Test and secure the series 2-1. “It is our best series win,” said skipper Virat Kohli, who had missed the game owing to a shoulder injury. But as has been the tale through the last seven months when his team-mates coped well with constant changes in the playing eleven, the captain’s absence was never felt. Ajinkya Rahane stepped up with quiet aggression, led astutely, his rapid unbeaten 38 ensuring that there were no needless alarms as India chased a meagre 106 in its second innings. It was a fine finish to a long home season of 13 Tests in which New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia were all defeated. India won 10 Tests, drew two and lost just the one, the 333-run loss to Australia in the first Test at Pune . Last September, the campaign commenced on a rousing note as India, incidentally in its 500th Test, defeated New Zealand by 197 runs at Kanpur. Kohli and team then travelled across the country before finding their acme in the rarefied heights of the Himalayas as an ever-competitive Australia, second-best in Tests according to International Cricket Council rankings, fought hard before ebbing away.
The series against Australia, always a tough scrutiny of skill and temperament, never left the Indians bogged down. The Pune loss was seen, in hindsight at least, as a reality-check before parity was restored at Bengaluru. Australia drew at Ranchi, and for the climax Dharamshala offered the best pitch of the series. True to the nature of jousts between India and Australia, sledging and the mud-slinging through sections of the media added a bitter side-show. But the cricket was riveting. By his own exalted standards, Kohli failed — 46 runs from five innings — against Australia, while his counterpart Steve Smith flourished with 499 and three tons. Yet, India prevailed, and that is a tribute to the squad’s resilience and the ability to find diverse heroes at different times. Be it Jayant Yadav, Karun Nair or Kuldeep Yadav, the hosts have found key players on crucial occasions since September. The fulcrum may have initially rested upon Kohli (1252 runs this season) and R. Ashwin (82 wickets), but there were others who came good too. The Saurashtra duo of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja was consistent. The former amassed 1316 runs, the latter bagged wickets and scored crucial runs. K.L. Rahul sparkled atop the batting pole and Umesh Yadav showed that speedsters can prosper even on pitches with an inherent bias towards spin. The No. 1 Test side has proved its mettle, albeit at home. There will be tougher battles overseas, but before that the players will split and dive into the glitzy Indian Premier League.
