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With the 2-1 victory, India became the first Asian country to win a Test series in Australia. Overall, they were the fifth team to achieve the feat after England, West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa.
On January 8, 2019, India made history with their first-ever Test series win in Australia. (Image: ICC/X, formerly Twitter)
On This Day In 2019: Virat Kohli led India to win their first-ever Test series on Australian soil six years back on this day (January 7). The victory was sealed after the fourth and final Test of the 2018-19 Border Gavaskar Trophy ended in a draw at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
India notched a 31-run win in the series opener at Adelaide before losing the second Test by 146 runs in Perth. The visitors bounced back in Melbourne and defeated Australia by 137 runs to reclaim the lead.
Australia had a disastrous start in the last game at Sydney. India produced a mammoth 622 in the first innings, courtesy of centuries by Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant. Australia were asked to follow on after they were bundled out for 300.
India were close enough to wrap up the series in a dominant fashion but cruel rain spoiled the party on the last two days. Only 25.4 overs were possible on Day 4 and the situation remained the same on the fifth day as well. Pujara was named the Player of the Match for his 193-run knock. He also secured the title of the best player of the series.
With the 2-1 victory, India became the first Asian country to win a Test series in Australia. Overall, they were the fifth team to achieve the feat after England, West Indies, New Zealand and South Africa.
Virat Kohli deserves much credit for the historic win. He finished third in the scoring charts with 282 runs.
With Australia suffering a batting collapse in Sydney, Kohli became only the second Indian captain to enforce a follow-on in Australia. Kapil Dev previously made it happen in 1986.
As Steve Smith and David Warner were suspended for the infamous “Sandpapergate” incident, Australia had an inexperienced batting lineup in the 2018-19 Border Gavaskar Trophy. Their bowling unit, however, looked quite strong.
Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon might have given their best but the Indian batters were in no mood to surrender.
Rishabh Pant registered an unbeaten 159 in Sydney to become the first Indian wicketkeeper to score a Test century in Australia. The southpaw recorded 350 runs in four matches at an average of over 58.
