India produced one of the most dramatic test series wins in history on Tuesday when they beat Australia by three wickets at the Gabba in Brisbane.
They were bowled out for 36 as they lost the first test in Adelaide, then said farewell to their captain and talisman Virat Kohli, who went home for the birth of his first child, but persevered despite a wave of injuries to fight back and win the four-match series 2-1.
No visiting team had beaten Australia in a test at the Gabba since 1988, when the West Indies triumphed, with the hosts notching up 24 wins and seven draws in a 31-match undefeated streak that was brought to an end in thrilling fashion.
These were the defining moments.
The toss – and the team naming
Australian captain Tim Paine won the toss and chose to bat, but what was notable was the makeup of India’s team.
Only three players remained from the first test in Adelaide before Christmas – captain Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Mayank Agarwal, who had been dropped in the meantime.
Two players – Washington Sundar and T Natarajan – were making their debuts, which meant India used 20 players in total throughout the four-match series, a record for a touring team.
Labuschagne’s lives
If India were hoping for a strong start, they didn’t get it, as they dropped Australian star Marnus Labuschagne on 37 and 48 before he made 108 to anchor the hosts’ first innings.
Had Rahane and Pujara taken those chances, the tourists would have been on top early on the opening day, but it wasn’t to be.
Labuschagne’s century was one of just three scored in a series where batsmen struggled, as evidenced by the fact that Australia failed to past 400 in any of their eight innings.
A partnership for the ages
India were in trouble as they went about replying to Australia’s first-innings total of 369, slumping to 186-6 with debutant Sundar and Shadul Thakur, who had played one previous test, at the crease.
The visitors’ hopes of escaping with a draw, never mind a win, appeared to be in tatters, but the duo proceeded to put together a 123-run partnership that moved India to 309-7, 60 runs short of parity.
They were ultimately dismissed for 336, but the fight shown from Sundar, who made 62, and Thakur, who made 67, set the tone for what was to come.
Setting a target
Australia began day four at 21-0 in their second innings, leading by 33 runs and looking to score enough runs to give India a difficult chase while ensuring they had enough time to bowl them out.
As it turned out, they were dismissed for 294 on a rain-hit day, which meant India were left needing 328 runs to win or to bat out a day and the better part of the final session for a draw.
Rain washed out most of what was left on day four on Monday and as Tuesday dawned, the equation was simple – to win the series, India needed 324 more runs from a minimum of 98 overs, while Australia needed 10 more wickets.
The final hour
The fielding team is required to bowl a minimum of 15 overs in the final hour of a test match and Australia began that period needing six wickets, while India still needed 69 runs, at a required run rate of 4.6 runs per over.
Austral proceeded to score 38 runs off the next 32 balls he faced while Sundar added 22 off 29 as India got there in a canter, with three overs to spare.
Australia took three of the six wickets they needed and when they got the first, the equation was 63 runs off 80 balls, so they were still in with a sniff, but Pant and Sundar quickly put their hopes to bed to complete a memorable chase.
