India recorded probably their greatest Test win exactly a year ago in Brisbane with a certain Rishabh Pant playing the knock of his life. Chasing an improbable target of 328 runs at the impenetrable Gabba, where Australia had never lost a Test for 32 years, India registered a three-wicket victory to complete an unprecedented back-to-back series win Down Under.
The four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series started on an ominous note for India. They lost the opener in Adelaide by eight wickets after managing just 36/9 in the second innings. But the visitors fought back to win the second match in Melbourne by eight wickets and settled for a draw in Sydney.
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But an injury-ravaged India entered the series decider with a make-shift team led by Ajinkya Rahane as Virat Kohli returned home for the birth of his first child. Depleted by injuries, the Indian attack featured Mohammed Siraj, T Natarajan, Shardul Thakur, Navdeep Saini and Washington Sundar. India, as warned by Aussie captain Tim Paine, looked certain to suffer a humiliating defeat in the absence of match-winners like Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, etc.
Batting first, Australia scored 369 in the first innings then dismissed India for 336 to take a 33-run lead. Siraj took a five-wicket haul in the Aussie second innings to restrict the hosts to 294. But India still needed to chase a target of 328 runs against a bowling attack that had the likes of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon.
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Shubman Gill laid the foundation with 91. It was followed by a gritty 211-ball knock from Cheteshwar Pujara, who took body blows to compile 56 runs. Pant then finished the job with an unbeaten 89 off 138 with the winning runs, a four off Hazlewood, coming in the 97th over.
India thus breached the 'Fortress Gabba'. Relive the final day action here:
And Indian fans continue to celebrate that win. Here are some reactions:
In the process, a young Indian side many feats, including the third-most runs scored on the final to win a Test (325) and third-highest successful run chases against Australia in Australia.
