When Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane resumed their innings today morning it looked like India will eventually be able to set a target of around 230 runs for the visitors. However, the Australian pacers had other plans as Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood ran through the remaining Indian batters in a hurry.
Ishant Sharma was the last wicket to fall for India as the hosts only managed to set up a target of 188 runs but on a turning Chinnaswamy wicket it was never going to be easy.
The first blow was dealt by Ishant who picked up the inform Matt Renshaw with a beauty and then Ravichandran Ashwin sent back Warner.
When Steve Smith was given out leg before wicket off an Umesh Yadav delivery with the score reading 74/4, Virat Kohli and his men knew they almost had the match in their pockets.
After a brief partnership between Mitchell Marsh and Peter Handscomb, two more wickets fell just before tea and Australia were reduced to 101/6.
After the break, it was only a matter of time for the Indian bowlers and Ashwin with a little help from Jadeja cleaned up the tail and gifted India a win by 75 runs.
After the hard-earned win, here’s what Indian skipper Virat Kohli had to say:
“Especially after the way we lost the first Test, we wanted to prove ourselves. Today the boys showed their heart and character along with the crowd. A couple of the sessions were game changing. The moment they did not get big runs in the first innings, we knew we had a chance. The wicket has been relaid. It exactly panned out the way we wanted.”
“After conceding the lead, it was a champion partnership (between Pujara and Rahane). The two of our best Test batsmen applied themselves. The knock from Wriddhi (man) and the way Ishant batted was a bonus as well. Ranchi is going to be very competitive. We can't wait to get there. Hopefully, we can take the momentum forward and never look back.”
Here’s how the cricketing fraternity reacted to India’s emphatic win:
Former England captain Michael Vaughan wrote:
Virender Sehwag:
Harsha Bhogle too tweeted about how well the Indian bowlers defended the low target.
Former Indian Test cricketer VVS Laxman who was a part of the sensational 2-1 series victory in 2001 wrote:
Even former Aussie pacer Ryan Harris congratulated India on the win.
Sachin Tendulkar:
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