MELBOURNE, Dec 29: Hungry for redemption, India recorded a win for the ages under an inspirational Ajinkya Rahane, beating Australia by eight wickets in the second Test to level the four-match series 1-1 here on Tuesday.
Needing only 70 runs for victory after bowling Australia out for 200 by lunch, opener Shubman Gill (35 not out) and stand-in captain Rahane (27 not out) guided India home to square the series at 1-1 ahead of the third Test.
Having bowled India out for 36 in the crushing eight-wicket win in Adelaide, Australia’s pacemen steamed in with their usual vigour but were repelled by a belligerent Gill, who enjoyed a fine debut as Test opener.
The match belonged to Rahane, however, who took over the captaincy after Adelaide when regular skipper Kohli returned to India for the birth of his first child.
Named man of the match, Rahane marshalled a rejigged side superbly, and fittingly struck the winning run off spinner Nathan Lyon before tea, sending Indian fans into raptures in the crowd of 13,000.
Two years after smashing a depleted Australia by 137 runs in the Boxing Day Test, India’s bowlers again had the measure of their opponents on the MCG’s drop-in wicket.
The tourists rattled through Australia for 195 in the first innings and restricted them to 200 in the second, despite the loss of paceman Umesh Yadav, who managed only a handful of overs before hobbling off with a calf strain early on day three.
Seamer Mohammed Siraj filled the breach superbly, taking 3-37 in the second innings and five wickets overall in a stellar Test debut.
Recalled all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja also chipped in with three wickets in the Test, with 2-28 in the second innings, after contributing 57 with the bat in India’s first innings 326.
Completing the selectors’ triumph, recalled wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, the fourth change to the 11, scored a valuable 29.
Australia’s selectors will be hoping regular opener David Warner is fit to play after Joe Burns’s (0 and 4) twin failures with the bat.
Tailenders Mitchell Starc (14 not out), Pat Cummins (22) and Josh Hazlewood (10) showed stiffer resistance than a number of their batting team mates to push Australia to 200 for the first time in the series.
Reduced to 99 for six on day three, however, Australia’s faint hopes of setting India a proper chase were snuffed out when young all-rounder Cameron Green heaved at a Siraj short ball and was caught by a leaping Jadeja for 45. (Agencies)
SCOREBOARD
Australia
1st Innings: 195
India
1st Innings: 326
Australia
2nd innings
(Overnight 133/6)
M Wade lbw b Jadeja 40
J Burns c Pant b Umesh 4
Labuschagne c Rahane b Ashwin 28
S Smith b Bumrah 8
T Head c Agarwal b Siraj 17
C Green c Jadeja b Siraj 45
T Paine c Pant b Jadeja 1
P Cummins c Agarwal b Bumrah 22
M Starc not out 14
N Lyon c Pant b Siraj 3
J Hazlewood b Ashwin 10
Extras: (LB-5, NB-3) 8
Total (all out in 103.1 overs): 200
Bowling: Jasprit Bumrah 27-6-54-2, Umesh Yadav 3.3-0-5-1, Mohammed Siraj 21.3-4-37-3, Ravichandran Ashwin 37.1-6-71-2, Ravindra Jadeja 14-5-28-2.
India
2nd innings:
M Agarwal c Paine b Starc 5
S Gill not out 35
C Pujara c Green b Cummins 3
Ajinkya Rahane not out 27 Total (For 2 wickets in 15.5 overs): 70
Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-19 Bowling: Mitchell Starc 4-0-20-1, Pat Cummins 5-0-22-1, Josh Hazlewood 3-1-14-0, Nathan Lyon 2.5-0-5-0, Marnus Labuschagne 1-0-9-0.
India won by 8 wickets