India convincingly proved they were the best after losing the first test to Australia. Their 8 wicket victory in the 4th and final test clinched the issue as they won 2-1 in the series on home turf. Virat Kohli’s team bagged the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The series was packed with excitement as Australians showed a competitive spirit and played hard to win though India had an edge in every department of the games. Indian batting was of course inspired by Kohli’s excellence and leadership. Ravichandran Ashwin spearheaded the spin attack as was to be expected. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja also excelled. On the other side, Australian maestro and Captain Steve Smith were prolific with runs as he scored the highest in the series with 499 runs. He hit three centuries in the Test series. Jadeja was simply great with both bat and ball. He played with supreme consistency and was the third player ever to score over 500 runs and take over 50 wickets in a season. One was reminded of all time greats like Vinod Mankad and Kapil Dev.
India have now consolidated their numero uno position in International cricket. The team has a rating of 122 points. Australia comes second with 108 points. The victory in the Test series against Australia made the India eleven hold the distinction of being the third team who have won the Test series against all 9 Test Playing nation. But India have to prove their supremacy in away series playing on grounds which may not suit Indian talent especially on wet wickets. Even on home turf, Indian players may lose their nerve and face a collapse. They were beaten by 333 runs in the first test with Australia at Pune. All this proves thatVirat Kohli and his team cannot afford to be complacent. They must make sure they are always in great nick when they face the challenge abroad.
