India vs Australia: The Indian team celebrates a 2-1 series victory over Australia. (Source: Reuters)Virat Kohli’s men created history on Monday as they won the Test series down under 2-1 after the rain-affected fourth match at the Sydney Cricket Ground ended in a draw. The visitors won the first Test at Adelaide, which was followed by a defeat at Perth. However, the Australians failed to curtail the Indian juggernaut in the remaining two games and Kohli’s side ended a 71-year wait for a Test series victory on the Australian soil.
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Here is how the members of the Indian squad performed in the four-match Test series against Australia:
KL Rahul
If there was a major disappointment during the victorious series, it was Lokesh Rahul. The opener scored a total of 57 runs in the three Tests he played. He now has 12 single-digit scores in his last 24 Test innings. After a dismal performance in the first two matches, he was dropped for the Boxing Day Test. He was brought back for the final match, but his poor show continued.
Mayank Agarwal
Newcomer Mayank Agarwal emerged as India’s solution to their opening woes as he made the most of earning a spot in Test cricket, making a total of 195 runs at an average of 65.00 in his two appearances. After two openers Rahul and Murali Vijay failed to impress in the first two Tests, Mayank shone on his debut at the Boxing Day Test, slamming a brilliant 76 runs off 161 balls, followed by another 42 in the second innings. In the process, he became the highest Indian scorer in a debut game against Australia. The Karnataka batsman continued his sublime touch in the fourth and final Test in Sydney as he scored a 77 at the SCG. However, the pain of missing out on a ton in Australia will hurt him.
Cheteshwar Pujara
For Cheteshwar Pujara, it was a turnaround series as he didn’t have a great time during the last Australian tour. The right-handed batsman amassed 521 runs in 7 innings at an average of 74.42 including three centuries to emerge man-of-the-series. In the process, he also broke Rahul Dravid’s record of facing maximum deliveries during a Test series in Australia. Pujara played 1258 deliveries in Australia surpassing Dravid’s record of 1203 balls during 2003-04 series.
Virat Kohli (C)
Virat Kohli became the first Indian captain to guide the side to a series victory on Australian soil. This is India’s first win in Australia in 71 years and 11 attempts. Kohli led India from the front, scoring 282 runs in seven innings in the four-match series, including a century in Perth. The Indian captain finished the series as the third highest run-getter. Kohli’s hunger and aggression on-field have been well appreciated by fans and critics alike, along with his decision to rotate the bowlers.
Vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane amassed 217 runs including two half-centuries in seven appearances in the series. Being a key fielder for India, Rahane, who occupies one of the slip positions for both pacers and spinners, took six catches in the four matches including a stunning catch at mid-wicket to send Marnus Labuschagne packing on Day 3 of the final Test.
Hanuma Vihari
Hanuma Vihari scored a total of 111 runs in five innings at an average of 22.20. The part-time spinner, who replaced Ravichandran Ashwin in the playing XI, also ended up picking two crucial wickets on the opening day of the second Test. Vihari got the wickets of opener Marcus Harris (70) and Shaun Marsh (45).
Rishabh Pant (wk)
Rishabh Pant finished the Test series as the second highest run-getter, scoring 350 runs in seven innings at an average of 58.33, including an unbeaten 159 in the fourth and final Test in Sydney. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who became the first Indian wicketkeeper to score a century in Australia, has now cemented his place in the longest format after MS Dhoni’s retirement. He also took a total of 20 catches in the series.
Ravindra Jadeja claimed a total of seven wickets in the two Tests he played in the series. Jadeja amassed a total of 90 runs in three innings including a half-century in the final Test.
Mohammed Shami claimed 16 wickets in the four-match series and was crucial in guiding India to a historic win in Australia. The pacer scalped five wickets in the first Test and continued the form in the second match at Perth claiming six wickets and ripping through the hosts’ lower middle-order. He also broke the record of most wickets in a calendar year by an Indian pacer after taking his 44th wicket in the Perth Test.
Kuldeep Yadav
Chinaman Kuldeep Yadav picked up a five-wicket haul in his maiden Test on Australian soil, helping India enforce the follow-on after the hosts were bowled out for 300 on day four of the fourth and final Test. Kuldeep finished with 5/99 in his first and only game of the series on Sunday to complete his five-wicket haul.
Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah picked up 21 wickets in the Australia Test series. (Source: AP)Jasprit Bumrah finished as the leading wicket-taker with 21 scalps at an average of 17.00 to his name. He became the first bowler from the sub-continent to register a five-wicket haul in South Africa, England and Australia in the same year. With match figures of 9/86, Bumrah helped India win the third Test by 137 runs.
Murali Vijay
Opener Murali Vijay disappointed once again as he made 49 runs in the first two Tests against Australia, losing his place in the squad for the Boxing Day Test as well as the final Test in Sydney.
Prithvi Shaw
Prithvi Shaw was ruled out of the Test series in Australia following an ankle injury he suffered during India’s warm-up match against Cricket Australia XI on November 30.
Rohit Sharma made 106 runs in the two Tests he played, including a half-century in Melbourne, before returning back to Mumbai on the birth of his first child. He missed the Perth Test after jarring his lower back while fielding in the 1st Test.
Parthiv Patel
The back-up wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel did not make it to the Playing XI in the series.
Ravichandran Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin suffered an abdominal strain and was ruled out of the series after claiming six wickets in the first Test.
Ishant Sharma claimed 11 wickets in the first three Tests before being dropped for the final Test in Sydney after experiencing discomfort in his left rib cage.
Umesh Yadav picked up two wickets and made six runs in the only Test he played in the series in Perth.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar did not make it to the Playing XI in any of the four matches in the series in Australia.
