India 262 (Axar 74, Kohli 44, Lyon 5-67) and 118 for 4 beat Australia 263 (Khawaja 81, Handscomb 72*, Shami 4-60) and 113 (Head 43, Jadeja 7-42, Ashwin 3-59) by six wickets
This is what a Test on steroids looks like. Australia started the day effectively 62 for 1, had India worried as they raced to 86 for 2, then lost their last eight wickets for 28 runs, as India went on to win a Test that seemed lost on more than one occasion, retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the process. Ravindra Jadeja registered his best Test figures, 7 for 42, and his second 10-wicket match haul; the other three wickets went to R Ashwin, who had looked more threatening when Australia were running away with the game.
When Test matches in India are hurtling towards results at such breakneck speed, what we see doesn’t always make sense. Like Ashwin looking the better bowler, but Jadeja coming back from an ordinary start to run through Australia. Or the sweep shot, and the variations thereof, going from Australia’s best friend to their biggest enemy within minutes.
The sweep, which resulted in six wickets in the second innings, had actually put India under immense pressure. At one point, Australia had scored 71 runs off 27 sweeps for just two wickets. Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne had used it distract India, forcing them to put fielders back for the shot. It was the shot that opened up the field for Labuschagne as Australia had India worried: Jadeja went for 31 in his first six overs, Ashwin was going over four himself, and Australia looked set to go well past 150, which would have been a challenging total on this pitch.
That despite a beauty from Ashwin early on to take out the threatening Travis Head, beating the left-hander in the flight and then taken by the keeper. However, when Steven Smith played the big sweep off Ashwin, it was only the 18th time he was playing the shot in India. He missed the offbreak and was adjudged lbw.
