4th Test

 A test that will test India's back-up bowling line-up with almost no experience between the 5 bowlers the Indians had in the 11. The Australians on the other hand, were playing the strongest XI they could possess with this current squad. 

Day 1

The inexperience of the Indian attack did not show on the first hour of the morning as they ripped through the left-handed openers Marcus Harris and David Warner. Siraj had Warner in the first over when Rohit took a blinder in the slip cordon to end the troubles of Warner. It was Harris who fell next while attempting his first boundary of the match of first change Shardul Thakur. Luck was with Thakur as the ball went straight to Washington Sundar at square-leg. The deadly duo of Marnus and Smith once again came to the rescue, seeing of the next hour of session 1. Both these batsmen have topped the run-charts of this series and if they played well, they could easily take the game away from India. The session ended with both Steve and Marnus set and ready to launch the game into Australia's platform.

The second session ended Steve Smith's stay for an elegant 36 as Washington Sundar grabbed his maiden test wicket. Elated as it was the number 1 batsmen in the world at that time, Sundar went berserk in his celebrations. They almost scalped Smith number 2 in the next over but Rahane dropped a sharp catch at slip as Marnus was left clueless and squared up against an awkward bouncing ball by Navdeep Saini. Fully capitalizing on that life, Marnus along with Wade set to rebuilding the innings doing a fantastic job, setting up a partnership of 113, allowing Australia to regain their position in the driver's seat. It was then that they lost both Wade and Marnus in the space of 3 overs that allowed India to take control. The day ended with both Cameron Green and Tim Paine trying to stage a recovery that would help the Australians amass something of worth.

Day 2

An Australian collapse from 310-5 to 369-10 ended the Australian batting as credit was given to the inexperienced bowling line-up of the Indians to wrap things up for a par score on a batting surface. The score would have been much less Rahane would have held on to a false shot by Marnus when he was on 37. Australia would have been wrapped up under 350 had the Indians not let the last pair get away with a 39 run stand between them. 

The Indians began their play with an ok start before Gill emulated his U-19 counterpart Shaw by playing a ball after bringing his bat in pointing from gully. Cummins' accuracy along with Smith's fielding in the cordon proved to be the end of Shubman Gill who has looked impressive on the tour, but was not able to provide in this innings. Rohit departed next after brain freezing temporarily as he just smacked the ball sky-high without much distance, allowing Starc to take a comfortable catch at mid-on. The ball was meant to be hit as Lyon had the field placements ready, but, instead of distance, Sharma just tossed it up as if it was a tennis ball. In came two of India's best batsmen, but they were not able to continue for long as the weather gods interfered stopping the play for the whole day as India ended the day at a precarious 62/2.

Day 3

The day began in tandem as both set batsmen fell in the first session of the day. Rahane once again fell with a start as he streaked two boundaries between the slips, getting out to the third ball of the same kind after Captain Paine decided to plug the cordon with one more, cuz 5 was just not enough. Pujara fell once more to an outswinging beauty that forced him to play the shot as Hazelwood once more delivered against The Wall pt. 2.

The second session further worsened India's woes as Mayank and Rishabh both departed by playing unnecessary false shots in positions of confidence. The score was 183/6 when first-timers Sundar and Thakur joined each other at the crease after bowling beautifully, picking up 3 wickets apiece. Then began the second defining partnership of the series, as it showed the resilience and the fightback of the Indians as both batsmen put their heads down and got to work. Shardul, who has an average of 13 in First-class showed why he had been selected to play in this team. Braving injuries throughout his stay, Shardul slashed and hacked his way to a brilliant 67 off 115. The hunger was evident as he nonchalantly hooked a Cummins delivery over fine-leg for six. Sundar on the other hand displayed a patient and anchoring role as he kept the scoreboard ticking on the other end without much risk. The partnership between the two yielded 123 runs in 36 overs. The tail wagged and brought down the deficit to a mere 33 runs, something no one would have expected the first-choice tail to do and even in their dreams would no one have thought that this tail with its inexperienced members could take them that close. 

The Australians came out and scored faster than expected as they scored 21/0 in 6 overs. Warner got his first double digit score in the last inning of the series while Harris stabilized the other end.

Day 4

 

The day began as Australian openers stitched together the first 50+ partnership of the series. David Warner finally succeeded in troubling the scorers while Marcus Harris kept on plugging in from the other end. However, the fairy tale script once again fell short as both openers departed one after the other, as the tried and trusted Smith-Labuschagne duo came to the rescue for the last time in this series. Smith once more notched up a fifty while Marnus was not able to convert his start into something worthwhile for the team.

The story of the second session was all the same as batsmen got in and got out, none of them quite getting a target as all fell for tame scores. Shardul Thakur kept the attack running as Siraj capitalized on the pressure created by his counterparts to continuously trouble the batting. Matthew Wade once again was not able to put the pressure back on the bowlers as they kept the game in their control while Australia struggled to advance into the driver’s seat. Smith scored his last fifty of the tour, for him this tour would showcase the ups and downs of cricket as his tremendous fightback in Sydney after notching 10 in the first 4 innings of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was commendable.

The tail of the Australians was wiped out by the inexperienced but hungry Indian attack that ended the day on top with Leader Siraj grabbing his maiden 5-wicket haul on his first tour. This tour showcased the ability on the new generation to prosper in new conditions. Siraj, who made his debut after the 36/9 fiasco in Adelaide had transformed from the rookie to the Leader in the span of a mere 3 tests, all on the same series. Even more special was the fact that his father, his biggest supporter had passed away days before the series began. Dedicating this to him, Siraj truly made his father proud. Shardul Thakur was also one wicket away from a 5-wicket haul, and it was only fitting that he would catch the ball that would allow Siraj to bag his 5^th wicket of the innings.

Day 5

The day began with India at 4/0, having played 1.5 overs the day before. Both batsmen continued in flow as Rohit once again perished early. Pat Cummins once more brought Rohit on his knees, forcing him to edge one into the heavy slip cordon that guarded the edges, dropping nothing in the day. Pujara once more played an absolute emulation of “The Wall” as he once more tired out the bowlers the best he could, allowing Shubman Gill to play the role of aggressor and play his natural game on the tired bowlers. The partnership resulted in a 100+ stand between the two before Gill fell nine short of his maiden century on his tour. Having shown the potential to play, Gill played a crucial role in this series, as he consistently provided the starts at the top of the order, allowing the middle to come in after the ball had become old. Pujara remained tall and proud, his defense impenetrable as Rahane joined him at the crease.

Rahane began playing his sorts from the word “go”, as he started fast, but was unable to continue this for long as he was once again caught on surprise as the cordon grabbed one more, adding to their tally. In came Pant, clearly showing that India were still gunning for the outright victory of the series. He entered the game with 162 runs needed of just 43 overs, with the second new ball still to come. He began a calculated assault, going about his business by pleasantly scoring at 3 an over with Pujara at the other end. It was when the second new ball came in did Pujara's stance go haywire as he was given out LBW, with Cummins working his magic. The rate was almost touching 5 at this point, with 20 overs to go and 101 required. Aggarwal started positively but once more fell to the tricks of Cummins as Australia still had hope of victory. 13 overs were left and 64 runs were required when Washington Sundar came in. The rate was still quite slow until the last turn, when 8 overs were left and 50 was required. In limited overs, this was nothing short of a cakewalk, but Tests were a completely different matter. Then an almost unbelievably audacious assault was started as the next three overs in the game yielded 11, 15 and 9 runs respectively. This breathtaking launch set the tone as the Indians rapped up the game with 3 overs left in the series.