Fifty three overs in the second innings and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up his third wicket when Josh Hazlewood nicked one to KL Rahul at second slip. It was the 10th wicket of the Australian innings and meant India had won their first-ever series opener on Australian soil.
Australia were bowled out on 291 in the second innings, with two balls remaining in an extended penultimate session on day five.
Set 323 runs to win, Australia's lower-order provided gritty resistance to edge toward the target, but the hosts were bowled out after 119.5 overs in the second innings. India shared the wickets around with Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrit and Mohammed Shami claiming three each.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, the Indian skipper said even though Australia got close to the target, the visiting team were confident they could get past the finish line.
“These things happen and it is important to stay calm. The odds were stacked against them as soon as we got Pat Cummins out, but they gave it a go, they tried their best but we executed our plans eventually and we got that last wicket that we were really keen to get.”Virat Kohli
Having advocated the five-bowler attack for the better part of his captaincy’s tenure, Virat Kohli elected to go with seven batsmen in Australia and the gamble paid off with Bumrah, Ashwin, Bhuvi and Shami picking up 20 wickets in the match.
“Super proud of the bowlers. To have four bowlers and for them to take 20 wickets to win the test match is an outstanding feat. It’s something we haven’t done in the past in Australia. They are at their peak, all of them together and its something that us, as batsman, look at as an opportunity to put in good performances and you know, we will be in every test match gunning for a result.”Virat Kohli, Captain - India
Test speciallist Cheteshwar Pujara was named Man of the Match for the 194 runs he made in Adelaide. His 71 in the second innings helped India score 307 but his fightback on day 1 was instrumental in the result going in the visitors’ favour.
Virat Kohli was out on 3 and India were 3/19, Rahane fell for 13 and India were 4/41, Rohit Sharma managed 37 and the score was down to 5/86, but with Pujara holding for at the other end, India managed to post 250 in their first innings that set the momentum for the win.
“Pujara’s innings was priceless. We were down and out at Lunch on the first day but I think his belief and his grit and determination kept us in the game. He brought us back beautifully and the game was poised equally on Day 2. When Pujara and Rahane bat like that they are our most solid pair and they gave that safety for the bowlers to go out and take 10 wickets again.”Virat Kohli
The skipper however did choose to single out lower batting order as an area of concern, saying the loss of quick wickets was ‘not acceptable’.
Our lower order and lower middle order could have done better. We lost 5 for 25 which is not acceptable while playing away test series. If we put a better show with the bat and scored 30-35 runs more, it would have been beyond Australia. We will need to look into it going into Perth. I’m really looking forward to next match. We are in a good zone and will carry the momentum.Virat Kohli
The 31-run victory in Adelaide is the first time an Indian team has won a test series opener on Australian soil and the teams now move to Perth for the second test starting 14 December.
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