India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Monday after a tie in the fourth and final test match between India and Australia, securing a spot in the World Test Series final, which will be hosted in England in June this year.
The test match ended in a draw, but it went down in history as a magnificent example of cricket diplomacy, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcoming the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on the first day of the fourth test. PM Modi proved to the world how cricket can be used to strengthen not only the sporting ties but also geopolitics. It was also the first time India went beyond Pakistan and its neighbours to engage with a first-world country such as Australia through cricket.
“Everything is well that ends well,” as the proverb goes, and the Border Gavaskar series is a prime illustration of this. Prior to the commencement of the series, both cricket and media greats clashed, but both nations’ heads of state turned this into a positive and utilised sport as a means to strengthen the bond between the two great cricketing nations.
Earlier, Australia scored 480 in the first innings after winning the toss. Usman Khawaja scored 180 runs, while Cameron Green also reached a Test century. India followed with a total of 571. Virat Kohli scored 186 and was the last man out. Shubman Gill added another Test century to his tally, giving India a 91-run advantage in the first innings. India won the series 2-1 and managed to retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Even before the end of day five, India had advanced to the WTC final because of New Zealand’s stunning last-ball victory over Sri Lanka earlier in the day. It will be India’s second consecutive WTC final, having lost the first one against New Zealand in 2021.
India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth time in a row, qualifying for the World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval. Australia won the third test in Indore, but were unable to win the fourth. The visitors lost the series, but a win in the third test secured their position in the WTC final, where they will meet Team India.
Earlier, the Indian top order was underperforming at the start of this series, but towards the end, the top order batsmen, including Virat Kohli, Shubham Gill, Rohit Sharma, and Pujara, all got their forms in order and looked forward to breaking their ICC trophy drought of over a decade in Oval.
Though four test batsmen hit hundreds in the fourth match, Virat Kohli stole the show as he ended a 1205-day test century drought. In the final Test, Kohli hit 186 runs in India’s first innings.
