"Test Cricket Is Hard-Fought": Rohit Sharma's Honest Verdict On India's Performance In Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Rohit Sharma had a clear verdict when it came to India's performance in the Test series against Australia.
Following his side's series win over Australia, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma remarked that the series was "fantastic" and different players contributed to the team's win by taking responsibility to bail the side out of difficult situations. Half-centuries from Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne helped Australia draw the fourth and final Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday. "It was a fantastic series. Right from the word go, how exciting it was. A lot of the players are playing this for the first time. We do understand the importance of this series and the opposition. A lot of hard work has gone into this. At different times we have come up with answers. We knew how important it was to start the series. The Delhi Test, I am very proud of. We were behind in the game. At Indore, we were put under pressure and lost the game. Different players put their hands up. A lot of guys took up the responsibility and bailed us out," said Rohit in a post-match presentation.
"Test Cricket is hard-fought cricket and isn't easy. I am quite satisfied. I know what kind of benchmark I have set for myself. I keep the personal milestones aside, We have got the result that what I wanted from the series. Getting the result makes us very happy," concluded the skipper.
With this, India has won the four-match Test series by 2-1 and have retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Australia started the final day of the match at 3/0, with Matt Kuhnemann (0*) and Travis Head (3*) unbeaten. They had the responsibility to overcome the 88-run lead that India had in the match.
After Ravichandran Ashwin trapped Kuhnemann early for just 6, Head joined forces with number one Test batter Marnus Labuschagne to give Australia the lead.
The duo put on a 139-run stand for the second wicket before Axar removed Head for 90. Labuschagne scored an unbeaten 63 and along with stand-in captain Steve Smith (10*), helped the side draw the match and end their innings at 175/2.
Earlier, India gained a 91-run lead over Australia after they were bundled out for 571 in their first innings.
Virat Kohli brought an end to his century drought in Test cricket, scoring his 75th international century and his 28th in Tests. This was his first century in Tests since November 2019. In his marathon effort, he scored 186 runs in 364 balls, consisting of 15 fours.
Shubman Gill also scored a century, smashing 128 runs in 235 balls. Axar (79), KS Bharat (44) and Cheteshwar Pujara (42) also played some important knocks, which helped India gain a lead over Australia.
Todd Murphy (3/113) and Nathan Lyon (3/151) were the pick of the bowlers for Australia. Mitchell Starc and Matt Kuhnemann got a wicket each. lead over Australia.
In their first innings, Australia posted 480 runs. Usman Khawaja (180) and Cameron Green (114) posted stunning centuries to help the Aussies gain a massive advantage earlier in the match.
Ravichandran Ashwin was the pick of the bowlers, taking 6/91 on a surface offering no help to spinners. Virat Kohli was adjudged as the 'Man of the Match' for his knock of 186 runs.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, India's star spin all-rounder duo were given the 'Men of the Series' award for their heroics throughout the series.
Ashwin ended as the top wicket-taker in the series with 25 wickets, with the best bowling figures of 6/91. He also scored useful 86 runs in five innings throughout the series with the best score of 37.
Jadeja also emerged as the second-highest wicket-taker in the series, with a total of 22 scalps and best figures of 7/42. He also scored 135 runs in five innings with one half-century and the best score of 70.
Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli
Nathan Lyon
Steven Smith