3 big takeaways for India after series win against Australia

The fourth Test match between India and Australia ended in a draw, as the hosts won the series 2-1. With this win, the Indian team has now beaten Australia on four consecutive occasions and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

After the hosts dominated the first two Tests of the series, Australia made an impressive comeback in the third Test at Indore.

The fourth Test played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad turned out to be a run fest, as both captains shook hands almost an hour before the scheduled close of play.

Both these sides will now lock horns in the final of the World Test Championship at The Oval. There were a number of talking points at the end of this series for Rohit Sharma and his team, and they will want to take note of them as they prepare for the WTC finale.

---

#3 Shubman Gill deserves a long rope

Shubman Gill has been in sensational form

After KL Rahul's failures, India gave Shubman Gill the nod to open the innings in the last two Tests. Gill, who has been in sublime form this season, showed his class with an emphatic century in the fourth Test match.

The right-hander looked assured against pace and spin, and he should now be given a long rope in whites. He has a solid technique when taking on pace, and this should hold him in great stead when India travels overseas.

Gill is in sensational form and has already smashed a double ton in ODIs and then a century in T20Is. His assured century in the fourth Test match should encourage the management to back him and give him the freedom to play his game.

---

#2 Question mark on KS Bharat

KS Bharat needs to improve his batting and keeping

Rishabh Pant’s absence has left a gaping hole in this Test team. KS Bharat replaced him in this series after being Pant’s understudy for a long time. However, errors crept into his wicket-keeping and he looked rather hassled with the bat.

He dropped quite a number of catches and did not exude too much confidence with the bat. With that being said, the Indian team management could well give him an extended run as the wicketkeeper.

However, Bharat needs to work on his game, especially his batting, if he has to make an impression in the upcoming challenges. With Ishan Kishan on the bench, Bharat will be under pressure to be far better in the series to come.

---

#1 Axar Patel’s emergence as a solid batter

Axar Patel has taken giant strides as a batter

R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were always going to be India’s premier spinners in this series. Axar Patel was under-bowled for obvious reasons, but he showed his potential with the bat. He bailed the hosts out of trouble in Nagpur and Delhi and looked perhaps the most assured batter on the turning tracks.

He ended up as the third-highest run scorer in the series with 264 runs in 5 innings at an average of 88. He was never dismissed for less than 50, and this should give Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid the confidence to try him as an all-rounder when they travel overseas.

He also became the fastest Indian bowler to pick up 50 Test wickets when he got rid of Travis Head in the final Test match.