Home Sports India win Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1, qualify for WTC final

India win Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-1, qualify for WTC final

Ahmedabad: The fourth Test between India and Australia ended in a draw at the Narendra Modi Stadium, with the hosts’ winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series 2-1 and retaining the trophy at home.

With more than an hour left on the clock for the game to end, both teams called for the match to end, as it reached the inevitable result of draw, as India pocketed their 16th consecutive series win at home. Also, it is the fourth straight series between India and Australia that has ended at 2-1 scoreline.

India and Australia will meet again in the World Test Championship final at the Oval in England from June 7-11. India’s spot was sealed after New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by two wickets in a thrilling last-ball finish at Hagley Oval.

It was a Test match in Ahmedabad where the batters were dominant on a slow, flat pitch, completely opposite of the spin-friendly pitches in the first three Tests, which all ended in three days.

Despite that, ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin took a six-wicket haul. Usman Khawaja, and Cameron Green notched up centuries for Australia, while Shubman Gill made a sparkling 128 and Virat Kohli made a magnificent 186 for India.

With the draw looming as a foregone conclusion, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne notched up fifties as Australia reached 175/2 before the end arrived as hopes for an unlikely win for both teams were terminated.

Twenty minutes into the first session, Ravichandran Ashwin had Matthew Kuhnemann lbw with an off-break delivery which went past his forward defence to smash into the front pad. Replays later showed Kuhnemann could have survived if he had taken the review.

With not much in the pitch to create trouble for the batters, Marnus Labuschagne comfortably came down the pitch to hit Ashwin through mid-wicket for four. Travis Head also joined boundary hitting when he cut a short ball from Ravindra Jadeja through off-side.

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