[searacer932]

Looks like reverse swing seems to have deserted the Aussies since Smith and Warner are not part of the team now.

Very interesting comment by Stuart Broad just post the Cape Town match.

Look at the Ashes series we’ve just played, look through all of those Test matches and they reverse swing the ball sometimes in conditions you wouldn’t expect the ball to reverse. So I don’t understand why they’ve changed their method for this one game?

Starc and Hazlewood bowling powers does seem to have waned in my opinion. Very interesting to see the Aussie bowlers not having the same effect as that of last year's Ashes which were also played on quite flat tracks.

[harry10]

Bad light will make this a draw in all probability.
Still winning the series is an amazing feeling. Historically we used to be humiliated on Australian tours but by enforcing follow on we have humiliated them more and that's something to behold on Australian soil.

[Chetan_Rao]

Speaking as a purist, it's about time we embraced day/night test cricket. In the age of world-class artificial lighting, it's a shame a game has to be stopped for bad light under any circumstances. Rain delays are unavoidable outdoors, light issues not so much.

Would also help getting more spectators in on weekdays.

[NPV]

During the Extra innings show today, Michael Clarke was very forthcoming in his views about the game in Australia - on one side is the fact that interest is waning for both people who want to play the game and the spectators who want to watch the game. Cricket Australia has been talking about Day/Night test cricket, but even with the flood lights on, if light is "bad" for play then it's a shame for the game and great loss for the players and spectators alike.

I'm really not sure about the exact background of the decision today, but just wondering about this:
grounds equipped with flood lights that can host Day/night T20/ODI cricket games should be good enough to have the required levels/intensity of light to play a game of cricket, so what's the problem then at the SCG during this test ?

[swissknife]

Spotting a red ball under lights is not as good as it is in sunlight. It is for this reason that day/night tests are played with a pink ball which is more visible under lights. It was even suggested by Murali Karthik that a pink ball of the same "age" could be used under lights, but there is no law that provides for this, yet.

[NPV]

With rain ensuring no play before lunch on Day 5, seems like this Test will end in a draw and a 2-1 series victory for India and a host of records being created. Australia were made to follow-on in this match 31 years after the previous one at home (1988 Vs England).

Also, Marcus Harris will likely end up as the Australian player with the highest score in the series (79) which will also be the "lowest" highest score by an Australian in a series in 100 years!

[Chetan_Rao]

All things considered, how pivotal was the Pujara hundred in the first innings of the series? Among several good performances with bat and ball (Bumrah has been terrific), that knock could very well be what won India the series.

Player of the series for me.

[swissknife]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

All things considered, how pivotal was the Pujara hundred in the first innings of the series? Among several good performances with bat and ball (Bumrah has been terrific), that knock could very well be what won India the series.

Player of the series for me.

No doubt about Pujara being the man of the series. The quantum runs that he scored and the manner in which he scored them, being as patient and one can be, the number of balls faced all have contributed to India winning the series in Australia.

At the same time, one should accept that the bowling unit is probably one of the strongest, since a test match is generally won by taking 20 wickets irrespective of the runs scored. The runs that Pujara scored helped Kohli to have aggressive fields with many in catching positions which helped the bowlers take the 20 wickets that were required to be taken.

[hemanth.anand]

Virat Kohli becomes the first Indian as well as the first Asian captain to return victorious from Australia! By winning the 4 test series 2-1 India has won a test series in Australia in 71 years of India Vs Australia Test cricket. Historic indeed.

While I'm happy about it, I can already see Ravi Shastri commenting "this is the best touring side of the century" and he'll continue as a coach for more time...which is what worries me.

Anyway, Bumrah on top of the wicket takers list and Pujara and Pant ahead of Kohli were some nice things to come out of this series. And to top it all; the Pant Song by the Bharath Army

We have Pant,
Rishab Pant,
We just don't think you understand...
He'll hit you for a six,
He'll baby sit your kids,
We have Rishab Pant...

[Santoshbhat]

Too bad rain ruined the opportunity to make it 3-1. But if you had asked any Indian at the start of the series, they would have taken 2-1 with both hands!

The team came back well after the debacle at Perth. A rare overseas series where both our bowlers and batsmen outplayed the home team. And the fielding too has been good with some good catching. Shastri just grew some fangs and claws guys, watch out!

[comfortablynumb]

I used to think the England players of yesteryear were the champions when it came to being sore losers, but Tim Paine is certainly giving them some tough competition. First it was "remove Kohli and Pujara from the Indian team and they will also struggle", then "Disappointed about the flat (not typical Aussie) pitches except in Perth" and then "was on the wrong side of the coin toss" (though the last was implied, not explicit). Why is it so hard to admit that you have been outplayed by the opposition, without any caveats?

Michael Vaughan very rightly called him out for the 2nd whine above :

You can’t be mentioning the pitches being too flat when the highest score your Team has got in the series is 326 ... #AUSvIND

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) January 5, 2019

With permission from Inzy Bhai - "The boys played really well"!


Cheers,
Vikram

[harry10]

Bummer. Conditions robbed us of a 3-1. Would have been great watching everyone jumping on the ground. Still, history has been made. Not many gave us a chance after SA, Eng series loss. Only if bewda/kohli wouldn't have made selection blunders there.

Still, an amazing win here. Would be great if we win ODI series too but I don't care about that much. Test series win is the one to cherish for a long time.

Bowlers were awesome. Hopefully Bhuvi may get more chances next time. Umesh shouldn't be played overseas. Bumrah is the MVP.

Rahul and Vijay shouldn't open for us ever again. Mayank is a real find. Rahane is a free loader since couple of years. Vihari looks solid but short ball issues. Pujara is certified Dravid replacement now. Kohli had a lean one by his standards and we still won, thats an achievement. Pant should play the world cup but Dhoni will Rob him. Jadeja should play ahead of Ashwin always.

[landcruiser123]

Weak Australian side aside, India played really well- much better than they did in England or South Africa. India has a few bright spots:
1. Pujara and Kohli's consistency
2. Opening partnership is set - Shaw and Agarwal will be opening for a while now

3. Bowlers are the best set in a few generations


Rahul needs to work out his temperament and work out his game. Rahane seems to be the weak link of this side now. His problem is similar to Rahul- his performances doesn't look terrible as he's not opening.

[Eddy]

Congratulations everyone. Honestly, I never thought that I'd see this ever in my lifetime. Kudos to the team !!

[benbsb29]

When we lost the test during this series, one of my Aussie mates at work teased saying "We beat you in the test". I quipped with, "There is always the next one to win". And win, we did. The series, in fact.

Kudos to the team.

I don't really follow cricket all that much, but when India plays Australia in Australia, it does evoke patriotism. I even went with family and friends to watch the Ind vs Aus T20 match at the Gabba, sadly we lost that one.. by a tiny margin, though.