Chennai: India clinched the first Test against Australia with a comfortable eight-wicket victory to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series here on Tuesday with their spinners taking all 20 wickets for only the third time in their Test history.
The Indians took about 25 minutes in the morning to finally bring an end to the stubborn last wicket partnership between Moises Hendriques (81 not out) and Nathan Lyon (11) as Australia folded up for 241 in their second innings, leaving the hosts a small victory target of 50.
The hosts lost both their openers Murali Vijay (6) and Virender Sehwag (19) before overhauling the target with more than two full sessions to spare.
Cheteshwar Pujara brought about the winning run off Lyon to trigger scenes of celebrations in the galleries and the Indian dressing room as the players congratulated and hugged each other.
It was a commendable show by the Indians, who have been under pressure of late following a series of indifferent performances in recent times, as they dominated the game right through here where the conditions suited the home team.
The first time that Indian spinners bagged all 20 wickets was at this same venue against England in 1972-73 while the second such instance was against New Zealand in Auckland in 1975-76.
While captain MS Dhoni expectedly got the Man-of-the-Match award for his game-changing knock of 224 in India’s first innings, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin scalped 12 wickets in the match to also play a stellar role.
The margin of victory could have been bigger had the Indians managed to get rid of the last wicket pair on Monday and had they not lost both their openers despite chasing a small total.
The two teams will now travel to Hyderabad for the second Test from March 2-6. The governing bodies of both teams had discussed the security situation there after the bomb blasts in the city last week.
Questioned about his majestic double century, Dhoni replied:”I had never dreamt that I would get a double in Tests. I had never even dreamt of playing for the country. So, let’s just keep it simple.”
“It was important to play some shots. If you have those extra catching fielders, you might make one mistake and end your innings. I had to play a few shots to try and spread the field. That was the motive,” said Dhoni.
Asked about the performance of Sehwag, Dhoni said,”I think we just need to give him more time. Well, that’s how he bats. About Viru pa, I’ve said this plenty of times before, when he scores runs, he looks a fantastic player and when he doesn’t, you can question the shot he played or the way he played.”
Australian captain Clarke conceded that it was Dhoni’s double century that turned out to be the game-changer as they were completely outplayed by India .
“They outplayed us. Mahendra Singh Dhoni certainly led the charge and I thought Virat Kohli was outstanding as well with his hundred. But it certainly was Dhoni, who changed the game,” the visiting skipper told mediapersons at the post-match conference. (PTI)
