Australia vs India 2014/15: Top 5 performances in the Test series

After a month of riveting Test cricket, we have finally come to the end of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2014-15 played in Australia. With flat tracks greeting the players in most of the matches, the proceedings were dominated by the batsmen to a great extent. It was evident from the fact that both teams surpassed 400 runs in 1st innings in all the matches; in fact Australia crossed the 500 mark every time with Steven Smith going past the great Don Bradman’s record of most runs in a series between these two sides.For the Indian bowlers, this is definitely a series which they would like to forget going into the World Cup; they had records stacking against them for all the wrong reasons. The Indian bowling unit wasn’t able to dismiss the Australian batting order twice in a match throughout the series. Umesh Yadav went on to concede 45 runs in 3 overs during the second innings of the final Test; it happened to be the highest economy rate by a bowler in Tests with a minimum of 3 overs.The final scoreline reading Australia 2-0 India is indicative of India’s weaker bowling unit compared to their counterparts. The Indian batsmen put on a terrific display in the series and were in no way lagging behind the Australians.The series saw some incredible individual performances, of which, some were match-winning and other performances won the hearts of many cricket followers. Let us have a look at the top 5 performances in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2014-15:

#5 Nathan Lyon\'s 12-wicket haul - 1st Test

During an emotional morning session at Adelaide, Australia opted to bat first on a pitch which was flat and looked like a belter of a track, as is the case with Adelaide usually. Centuries from David Warner, Australian captain Michael Clarke and Steven Smith put the Australians in a formidable position at 517/7 at the end of play on day 2.

With India’s batsmen struggling in their previous tour to England against the part-time off-spinner Moeen Ali, Nathon Lyon was anticipated to play a major part in this series.

Lyon had a good return with the ball in the first innings with his figures reading 36-4-134-5; four among those wickets were of India’s middle order batsmen. The Australians managed to get a good first innings lead of 73 and they were in pursuit of some quick runs on day 4 to declare early and give themselves a chance to go 1-0 up in the series.

They were helped by Warner and Smith again and an overnight declaration gave India a target of 369 to chase on the final day with 98 overs to be bowled on a pitch which was crumbling.

Not many gave the visitors a chance to even draw the Test, but they, under their new captain Virat Kohli, decided that being positive was the only way they could tackle this. Things fell in place for the Indian batsmen and at Tea on day 5, they were at a comfortable position of 205/2, still needing 159 runs in the final session with 8 wickets in hand which was very much possible.

Lyon, who was expected to be a nightmare for Indian batsmen on the final day pitch, didn’t have much of an impact in the first two sessions; credit had to be given to the Indian batsmen for handling him so well. Even when Australia were glaring at a defeat, they refused to take a step back and it paid off in the end.

The final session started off with Lyon trapping Murali Vijay plumb in front on 99. This opened the floodgates for the Australians and they ran through the Indian lower order quickly. Lyon made life very difficult for the Indian batsmen once the partnership between Kohli and Vijay was broken. He consistently pitched the ball in the rough outside the off-stump and wickets were falling at a rapid rate. He ended the innings with 7 wickets to his name and was rightly adjudged the Man-of-the-Match.

Lyon ended the series with a total of 23 wickets under his belt and was by far the highest wicket-taker of the series, with India’s Mohammed Shami next with 15 wickets to his name.

#4 Murali Vijay\'s 144 - 2nd Test

After losing out on a contest which was there for the taking at the Adelaide Oval, the Indians under MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to bat first on a very hot day at the Gabba. The bowlers were assisted by the bouncy pitch at the Gabba and India lost 3 of their top 4 batsmen cheaply including Virat Kohli.

Kohli was done in by extra bounce when he attempted to play a cut shot. At the other end, Murali Vijay was steadily going about his own business. The opener was well supported by Ajinkya Rahane and the Indians went into Tea on day 1 at 151/3 with Vijay holding one end strongly at 73.

The final session was a nightmare for Australia’s new stand-in skipper during which his bowlers were exhausted by the hot weather at the Gabba. Mitchell Marsh suffered a hamstring injury in the first session and Australia were already one bowler down. To add to that, his bowlers were going off the field one after the other and Steven Smith was left stranded with limited tools at his disposal.

Vijay cashed in on the opportunity and stepped up the run-rate in the final session and scored a flurry of boundaries and reached his hundred on the way. The Tamil Nadu batsman was finally out on 144, edging a delivery off Lyon’s bowling behind the stumps.

Vijay’s knock stood out for the way in which he built the innings; he saw away the initial period during which the Australian bowlers were on the money and used the opportunity to his advantage when the bowlers became tired as the day progressed.

Vijay and Rahane set it up nicely for India at the end of day 1 with the scoreboard reading 311/4 with Rahane still at the crease. The Indians lost the plot soon after, during the morning session on day 2 and ended up at 408. The Indians suffered a defeat in that Test owing to another batting collapse during their second innings.

Nevertheless, it was a brilliant innings by the Indian opener and had the Indian players made use of that advantage, the result could have been different.

#3 Virat Kohli-Ajinkya Rahane\'s partnership - 3rd Test

After facing defeats at both the Adelaide Oval and the Gabba, the Indians came to Melbourne hoping for some change in their fortunes. Australia opted to bat first and what followed up next was surprising.

Ishant Sharma started off with a maiden and Umesh Yadav bowled a wicket maiden getting David Warner out on a duck. Chris Rogers and Shane Watson displayed some resistance but the Indian bowlers came back strongly and Australia were in a spot of bother at 216/5. Steven Smith was still there and the Australian tail turned up again to end the innings at 530.

Murali Vijay got to a half-century, but Dhawan and Pujara were dismissed cheaply once again and the Indians were at 147/3 when Vijay got out. What transpired next was a visual treat for Indian cricket fans. Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane took the attack back to Australia with some aggressive batting. Every time a short ball appeared, it was pulled for a boundary by both the batsmen.

Kohli is known for his aggressive style of batting but what was surprising was Rahane taking on the fast bowlers especially Johnson. Their partnership was broken for 262 which is the highest partnership for India during the last 10 years overseas.

Rahane was dismissed for 147 while trying to sweep a full-length delivery by Nathon Lyon. Once Rahane got out, a familiar Indian batting collapse made its appearance once again and India ended day 3 at 462/8 with Kohli being the final batsman dismissed at 169.

The duo scored runs at a rapid pace and the Indians were glaring at an opportunity to take a first innings lead but all hopes diminished once Rahane got out. This partnership will stay in the minds of Indian cricket fans for a long time.

#2 Steven Smith\'s 192 - 3rd Test

After winning at the Adelaide Oval and the Gabba and going 2-0 up in the series, Australia were looking to clinch the series at Melbourne. Australia opted to bat first and they were put on the backfoot straightaway with Warner being dismissed for a duck.

Chris Rogers and Shane Watson displayed some resistance but the Indian bowlers came back strongly and Australia were in a spot of bother at 216/5. Steven Smith was still there with Brad Haddin at the other end. A wicket here could have put the Indians in the driver’s seat, but Australia ended day 1 without any further damage.

The Indian bowlers started day 2 poorly and Smith and Haddin made full use of that opportunity and runs were coming thick and fast for Australia. Smith continued his prolific run in the series and hit a century on the way. Haddin was dismissed soon after, but Smith kept the scoreboard ticking with support from the tailenders.

Ryan Harris made a stroke-filled 74 and Johnson also made a useful contribution with his 28. The Indian bowlers never looked like they were going to get Smith out and he was scoring runs at will. Once Johnson and Harris were out, Smith went after the Indian bowlers and was finally dismissed at 192 ending Australia’s first innings at a mammoth total of 530.

The match was well set-up for Australia to go for the win and clinch the series, but time eluded them off a victory and they had to settle for a draw.

#1 Virat Kohli\'s twin tons - 1st Test

Virat Kohli was the stand-in captain for India coming into the first Test at Adelaide and his performance was under a bit of scrutiny following a dismal tour of England.

Australia opted to bat first on a flat Adelaide track and piled on a mammoth 517 runs assisted by centuries from David Warner, Michael Clarke and Steven Smith. The Indians got their chance with the bat during the morning session on day 3 and were in a good position at 111/2 when their captain came in to bat.

There were no signs of the vulnerable Kohli we saw in England and he got going soon. He took on the Australian pacers and was very comfortable pulling Johnson’s bouncers for boundaries. He went on to get a century and was finally dismissed for 115 as India ended their first innings at 444 conceding Australia a lead of 73.

After some quick runs on day 4, Australia declared overnight setting India a target of 364 on the final day on a pitch which was deteriorating. India’s chances of managing even a draw were negligible but under their new captain, they decided that being positive was the only way they could tackle this. Things fell in place for the Indian batsmen and at Tea on day 5, they were at a comfortable position of 205/2, still needing 159 runs in the final session with 8 wickets in hand which was very much possible.

Kohli and Vijay played brilliantly to negotiate the threat posed by Lyon with the help of the rough outside off-stump. Even when Australia were glaring at defeat, they refused to take a step back and it paid off in the end.

The final session started off with Lyon trapping Murali Vijay plumb in front on 99. This opened the floodgates for the Australians and they ran through the Indian lower order quickly. Even after Vijay’s dismissal, Kohli went for his shots and went for the win but he was finally dismissed off Lyon for a brilliant 141.

Even though India lost the match, the intent to go for victory made their fans proud and their new stand-in captain Kohli started off his captaincy stint in Tests with magnificent twin tons.