Australia beat India by six wickets in the fifth Test of their five-match series and regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade.
The hosts held their nerve to chase down their winning target of 162 after lunch on the third day of the final Test in Sydney on Sunday, sparking wild celebrations from their camp as they also secured a place in the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s in June.
Travis Head, who was 34 not out, and newcomer Beau Webster, unbeaten at 39, got their team over the line to finish the series on a high.
“It’s unreal, it’s been an amazing series,” Australia captain Pat Cummins said shortly after the win.
“It felt like it was up and down the whole series, so to finish 3-1 and get the cup is a great feeling,” he added.
“I’m very proud, I absolutely love playing with these guys and it’s been a lot of fun along the way too.”
India captain Jasprit Bumrah was unable to bowl in Australia’s second innings due to a back problem but fellow bowlers Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj kept the match on a knife’s edge by removing four Australian top-order bowlers.
The match was played fast forward over the first two days with 15 wickets falling on Saturday, Australia removing four more in the first hour of Sunday morning to bowl out India for 157.
The track retained some excitement, Krishna standing in for Bumrah and returning opener Sam Konstas for 22, Marnus Labuschagne for six and Steve Smith for four before lunch.
Smith went weary, bowed, for 9,999 runs, followed shortly after the break by Usman Khawaja, who trailed Siraj by 41 minutes to leave Australia on 104-4.
The end of the topsy-turvy Test came as the momentum shifted towards the end, almost as an anti-climax to another huge crowd bathing in the sunshine at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Head and Webster got the job done with an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 58, the latter continuing his nerveless debut by hitting the winning runs with four successive overs.
“It was a bit frustrating but sometimes you have to respect your body,” said Bumrah, who was named Player of the Series after taking 32 wickets across the five matches.
“It was a great series. The whole series was good and we are still in the game today. Our young players will learn a lot of lessons for the future.”
The bulk of the Australian team had been consistent for many years, and victory over India remained an elusive goal for many of them.
Only Smith, Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc were part of the team that played in the last series win over their rivals a decade ago.
This was Cummins’ 20th win as captain.
“It’s something a few of us had. The boys have set their eyes on him and he has lived up to the hype.”
“We’ve spent a lot of time together as a group over the years, so we knew we weren’t at our best in Perth.
“But it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. So you have to stick tight and double down on what makes us a really good team.
Australia made three debuts during the series – opener Nathan McSweeney who was dropped after the first three Tests, the man he replaced, Sam Konstas, and all-rounder Beau Webster in the fifth Test.
They also relied heavily on stalwarts like Smith, Stark and Head.
“It’s always good to have a team,” Cummins said.
“The three newcomers to this series fit in well. They have contributed at different times.
“There were some big moments where our mainstay really held up. You have to do that to beat a team like India.”
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