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5 Reasons Why India Beat Australia in a Classic Series | Analysis: how India beat Australia in a classic 2020/21 Test series

19th January 2021 will be remembered as one of the most historic moments in the history of Test cricket as team India, saddled with broken bones and battered bodies, showed a never-seen-before zeal to retain the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the second consecutive time on Australian soil.

A series win in down under without the likes of regular skipper Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah not being available at various points, is a zillion times more significant than the 2-1 win in 2018-19.

This victory will be written with a glittering pen in the sporting history of India.

Let us have a closer look at 5 reasons which turned this Border-Gavaskar 2020-21 test series in favour of team India.

1. Ajinkya Rahane’s exemplary leadership

India had a horror start to the 4-match series at the Adelaide Oval where they were bundled out for 36 in their second innings. After the infamous defeat in Adelaide, India had to bounce back at the MCG without their skipper and premier batsman Virat Kohli. Not many gave India a chance to come hard after a forgettable loss in the first Test. But against the odds, India’s stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane’s hundred in the Boxing Day Test led India to an emphatic victory over the hosts.

Not only with the bat, but in the field Rahane was very good with his tactics. The hallmark of his captaincy was his ability to handle his optimal bowling resources, particularly as he was playing with a young squad with not many players having prior experience of playing Test cricket. The way he got the best out of everyone and allowed them to play their natural game uplifted the team’s character to success in alien conditions in Australia.

The Mumbaikar’s field placements were on spot against a strong batting line-up of Australia. Even with the team selection, getting Sundar ahead of Kuldeep, Pant at 5 in SCG ended being master moves by him. His biggest plus was he never stopped believing in his team and gave them ample confidence to approach every Test as a new challenge. As long as the side relies on his gameplan, the side would flourish as a cohesive unit.

2. Young Guns firing for India

India’s series win couldn’t have been possible without the efforts of India’s young players whether it was Mohammed Siraj, Shubman Gill, T. Natarajan, or Washington Sundar. Whenever the team needed someone to stand up and deliver, every time a new hero rose in India’s defense.

Mohammed Siraj in particular was the find of the series for the visitors. He bagged the most wickets from the Indian side. Considering whatever happened with him in his personal life and then the racial abuse by the crowd, it made him stronger from inside to show his character on the 22 yards.

Shubman Gill replaced the established opener, Mayank Agarwal, at the top of the order. There was pressure on Gill but he showed that he belongs to this level. He caught everyone’s eyes with his pleasant stroke-making and temperament while opening for India.

Sundar and Natarajan were no different, and , theyon debut both piled up few records for themselves to contribute to the team’s success. All of them took up the challenge to shine in their respective departments and played with utmost dedication to prosper. Their determination has given new recognition to the side.

Also read: An Aussie’s passionate take on why Australia lost the series and where they go to from here

3. Pant’s addition into the Team

When India left out Rishabh Pant from the playing XI of the first Test, many questioned that decision of the team management. However after the team failed in the Adelaide Test, they corrected their mistake by playing the left-handed wicket keeper batsman.

Pant showed why he’s often called the X-factor of the team. The 23-year-old ended the series as India’s highest run-getter with 274 runs including two remarkable half-centuries in Sydney and Brisbane. He also took eight catches behind the sticks. The 40-ball 29 in Melbourne had a lot of intent. The batting finally took shape at the SCG when the southpaw blasted 97 in high-pressure fourth innings. The unbeaten 89 at the Gabba is no less than a hundred as it won India the game and the series. His energy behind the stumps was quite contagious which kept the close-in fielders charged through those long grueling Test sessions. The 23-year-old’s addition to the team was a timely move by the management and captain.

Indeed, Pant’s innate self-belief was the secret of his success in Australia.

4. Persistent Pujara in India’s ‘Defense’

In many ways, India’s number 3 has transformed himself into a human shield to protect the team from the barrage of fiery bowling from Australia’s desperate pace trio. In 2018, Pujara batted and batted and batted to win the series for his country.

After that series, Aussie quicks accepted that it was very difficult for them to get past Pujara and expose the weak link of the Indian batting line-up. This time around he didn’t score as many runs as he wanted but as a senior member of the team, he did his job to utmost perfection. Pujara scored 271 runs in the four-match Test series. But a look at the number of balls he faced paints an entirely different picture. The Saurashtra batsman played out 928 balls and battled out for hours on the 22 yards. His scoring rate wasn’t like a Gill/Rohit/Pant but on most occasions, he provided them the platform and assurance to bat in their natural way.

Most importantly, while playing out the balls, he kept frustrating the Aussie quicks which forced errors and the Indian batsman made the most of it. He battled out tough sessions, also took several hits to the body, many of which he volunteered for, just to protect his wicket. Pujara’s contributions will always remain invaluable to the team’s triumph.

5. Indian spinners outperforming Lyon

One aspect of Team India’s success Down Under was the way the Indian spinners outperformed Australia’s ace spinner, Nathan Lyon. In foreign conditions away from home, the Indian spinners did exceedingly well. Combined, they picked 23 wickets from the 4 games at 27. Out of those 23, Ashwin alone managed to take 12 wickets from 6 innings at an average of 28.8 with a best of 4/55. He kept aside all age-old myths of him not performing in SENA countries. He was a standout spinner of the series from both sides.

To his support, Jadeja took 7 wickets in 3 innings, and Sundar claimed 4 wickets in the only game he played. On the other hand, Australia’s trump card finished with nine scalps at an average of 55.11. Only once in his career he has averaged worse in a home series (57.66, against South Africa in 2016-17). Lyon also conceded 496 runs- the most by a bowler in this series. Both Pujara and Rishabh Pant had success; both scored 100+ runs in the series against him. And those were the battles that probably swung the series in India’s favor.

In comparison to that, the Indian spinners didn’t allow Australia batsman to dictate terms as Ashwin had an upper hand on the opposition star batsman Steve Smith, dismissing him thrice in six innings.

Also read: An Aussie’s passionate take on why Australia lost the series and where they go to from here

So, a memorable victory for India. Next up is England, but this is a win fans will remember for many years to come.

Written by Vaibhav Tripathi. Follow Vaibhav on Twitter today.