India does Australia in
25 March 2013 12:55 AM GMT
Chasing 155 for victory in the fourth innings on a nightmarish track is never easy. But India’s Gen Now filled in just when it mattered to complete a historic 4-0 whitewash against Australia with a convincing six-wicket victory with over two full days to spare at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Sunday.
After rookie all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja picked up his maiden five-wicket haul to skittle out the visitors for 164 in the morning sessions, Cheteshwar Pujara put to rest all speculations of an Aussie comeback with a sublime knock that made batting look surprisingly simple on a dreadful pitch. Not afraid to use his feet against the spinners, Pujara literally drove Australia out of the match with a brilliant 82* (92b, 11×4). The 104-run stand between Pujara and Virat Kohli (41, 60b, 4×4), who came in after Murali Vijay attempted a horrendous reverse sweep to get bowled by Glenn Maxwell, was punctuated by glorious strokeplay and some smart running between wickets.
India’s first-ever clean sweep stands out for the ease with which victories were achieved in all the Tests. While the argument whether this is the worst ever Australian side to tour India will go on for some time now, let’s not undermine the fact the stellar roles played by youngsters like Pujara, Kohli, Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Jadeja and R Ashwin.
With the selectors taking the bold step of axing both Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, the onus of posting a big total which would give the bowlers ample time to bowl out the opposition twice lied largely on the shoulders of the new batting order which came out all guns blazing right from the word go.
After rookie all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja picked up his maiden five-wicket haul to skittle out the visitors for 164 in the morning sessions, Cheteshwar Pujara put to rest all speculations of an Aussie comeback with a sublime knock that made batting look surprisingly simple on a dreadful pitch. Not afraid to use his feet against the spinners, Pujara literally drove Australia out of the match with a brilliant 82* (92b, 11×4). The 104-run stand between Pujara and Virat Kohli (41, 60b, 4×4), who came in after Murali Vijay attempted a horrendous reverse sweep to get bowled by Glenn Maxwell, was punctuated by glorious strokeplay and some smart running between wickets.
India’s first-ever clean sweep stands out for the ease with which victories were achieved in all the Tests. While the argument whether this is the worst ever Australian side to tour India will go on for some time now, let’s not undermine the fact the stellar roles played by youngsters like Pujara, Kohli, Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, Jadeja and R Ashwin.
With the selectors taking the bold step of axing both Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, the onus of posting a big total which would give the bowlers ample time to bowl out the opposition twice lied largely on the shoulders of the new batting order which came out all guns blazing right from the word go.
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