India yesterday won their fourth series in a row against Australia after a fourth and final Test lit up by an epic 186 by Virat Kohli ended in a draw in Ahmedabad.
The hosts won the series 2-1 and the world’s two top-ranked teams are to battle again on June 7 to 11 at The Oval in London in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Even before the players shook hands on day five, India knew they had reached the WTC decider thanks to New Zealand’s thrilling last-ball win over Sri Lanka earlier in the day.
Photo: AP
It would be India’s second successive WTC final, having lost the inaugural edition to New Zealand in 2021.
Australia reached 175-2 in their second innings in the final session of play at the world’s biggest cricket stadium when the players of both teams called it a day.
“We do understand the importance of this series and the opposition. Lot of hard work has gone into this,” India skipper Rohit Sharma said.
Coach Rahul Dravid told broadcaster Star Sports it was a tough series.
“It was a really hard-fought series, there were moments where we were put under extreme pressure by a really good cricket team and we responded,” he said.
India similarly lifted the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home in 2017 and then beat the Australians in their own back yard in 2018-19 and 2020-21, each time 2-1.
Travis Head (90) and Marnus Labuschagne (63 not out) snuffed out India’s push for a victory on the final day with a stand of 139 after nightwatchman Matthew Kuhnemann fell early for 6.
The left-handed Head, capping a successful series after being left out of the first Test, missed out on his century after being bowled by Axar Patel.
Regular opener Usman Khawaja did not bat due to “lower leg soreness” after getting hurt while fielding on day four.
The match in Ahmedabad belonged to Kohli, who hit a masterful knock on day four to end a Test century drought of 1,205 days since his previous ton.
The marathon 364-ball knock blocked every chance of a potential defeat for the hosts after Australia posted 480 on a vastly different pitch from the previous three Tests.
Kohli, one of the best players of his generation, recorded his 28th Test century to power India to 571 all out on Sunday as India managed a lead of 91 after their first innings.
“I think in Test cricket I wasn’t able to play with my tempo and template that I have played with for the last 10 years for a while now,” the man-of-the-match said.
In Christchurch, Kane Williamson was hailed as “world class” after New Zealand’s record Test run-scorer orchestrated a dramatic last-ball win over Sri Lanka on a rain-disrupted final day.
The thrilling triumph at the Hagley Oval sank Sri Lanka’s chances of making the WTC final.
In a helter-skelter finish, the only Sri Lankans not guarding the boundary for most of the closing 10 overs were the bowler and wicketkeeper, as New Zealand chased down their target of 285.
Having lost eight wickets and on a day limited to 53 overs, skipper Tim Southee paid tribute to his star batsman Williamson.
The former captain finished 121 not out and ran a bye off the final delivery of the match in a remarkable conclusion, to go with New Zealand’s one-run victory over England two weeks ago.
“Seeing how calm he is out in the middle keeps us calm as well,” Southee said as New Zealand celebrated another famous, nail-biting win.
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