1st Test victory in Australia since ’08 for Kohli’s men
Virat Kohli’s men won India’s first Test on Australian soil in a decade on Monday, bowling out the home side in a nail-biting finale to clinch the opening match and raise hopes of their first ever series win Down Under. Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant pouched a world recordequalling 11 catches for the match as India, after setting an improbable target of 323, finally dismissed Australia to win by 31 runs on day five at Adelaide Oval. —
India won their first Test on Australian soil in a decade on Monday, bowling out the home side in a nail-biting finale to clinch the opening match and raise hopes of their first ever series victory Down Under.
Wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant pouched a world record-equalling 11 catches for the match as India, after setting an improbable target of 323, finally dismissed Australia to win by 31 runs on day five at Adelaide Oval.
Australia, attempting what would have been a record chase at the ground, gallantly battled to 291 before Josh Hazlewood became the last man to fall to Ravichandran Ashwin, who finished with 3-92. Shaun Marsh made 62 and Tim Paine 41. It was a huge breakthrough for captain Virat Kohli’s men, who went 1-0 up with three Tests to go after becoming the first Indian team to win the opening match of a Test series in Australia.India’s last Test success in Australia was at the WACA Ground in Perth in 2008, and the previous one in Adelaide was 2003. They have now won just six times in Australia in more than 70 years.
Australia resumed the final day needing another 219 for victory with four wickets down, but lost their last two specialist batsmen before lunch, shifting the odds heavily in India’s favour.
Marsh and Head laboured to 11 runs in the opening seven overs before seamer Ishant Sharma struck with the score
on 115, bowling a bouncer that caught Head’s bat as he tried to fend it off and Ajinkya Rahane took the catch at gully.
Paine joined Marsh and they upped
the ante. Marsh brought up a valuable 50 with a boundary from a pull shot off spinner Ashwin. But Marsh didn’t last much longer with Jasprit Bumrah getting the big breakthrough as he pushed at a perfectly angled delivery, getting a faint edge to Pant behind the stumps.
By lunch Australia had fought to 186 for six, needing 137 runs for victory, with Paine not out 40 and Pat Cummins on five. But in the second over after they resumed Paine top-edged a pull shot from Bumrah and Pant easily took a catch.
Cummins showed gritty application with Mitchell Starc in a 41-run eighth wicket stand. And when the target dropped below 100, the crowd dared to dream before Starc fell to Shami for 28. It brought Nathan Lyon to the crease and he got the pulses racing with a quick 38 to set up a tense finale, before Hazlewood departed to end the match. —