India completed one of the most remarkable come-from-behind victories in the history of Test cricket to defeat Australia on the final day of the second Test at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday.
India sent their cricket-besotted nation into raptures with a four-wicket victory over the world’s best team to clinch their first triumph in Australia for nearly 23 years.
First-innings double centurion Rahul Dravid hit the winning runs, a boundary off leg-spinner Stuart MacGill, and remained unbeaten on 72 in his man-of-the-match performance.
India last won in Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in February 1981 and have never won in seven previous Tests at the Adelaide Oval.
Australia’s last loss in Adelaide was against England by 106 runs in the fourth Test in 1995.
It was India’s third win in their last four Tests against Australia and continues their improving form away from home. Last year they defeated England by an innings and 46 runs in Leeds and the West Indies by 37 runs in Trinidad.
For Australia it is the first time in almost 10 years they have been 1-0 down in a home Test series since losing to South Africa in the second Sydney Test by five runs in January 1994.
Australia must win at least one of the last two Tests in Melbourne and Sydney to prevent losing their first home series since going down 2-1 to the West Indies in 1992-93.
The nervous Indians lost two wickets chasing the 13 runs required for victory after tea with VVS Laxman lashing out to Andy Bichel at mid-wicket off left-arm spinner Simon Katich for 32 and teenage wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel bowled for three attempting to sweep Katich.
The Australians battled on in sweltering 40 degrees Celcius temperatures in the forlorn hope of depriving the Indians, but their outside chances disappeared when strike bowler Jason Gillespie was forced off the field with a groin strain in the morning session.
The Indians, who outplayed Australia over the last two days of the Test in coming back from the home side’s first innings 556, lost master batsman Sachin Tendulkar and skipper Sourav Ganguly in the middle session.
Tendulkar became the fourth all-time leading Test run-getter before he was out to an error of judgement, padding up in front of his stumps to be lbw to MacGill for 37 off 59 balls with five boundaries.
Tendulkar partnered Dravid in a 70-run third-wicket stand that took India to within 81 runs of victory.
Tendulkar, who leapfrogged England batsman Graham Gooch into fourth spot, has now scored 8 920 runs and is only bettered by Allan Border (11 174), Steve Waugh (10 788) and Sunil Gavaskar (10 122).
Ganguly was caught in the gully by Simon Katich off Andy Bichel for 12, leaving his team 170 for four and still 60 runs from victory.
India lost openers Akash Chopra (20) and Virender Sehwag (47) in the morning session.
Dravid, who scored a record 233 in the first innings, was dropped by wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist off paceman Brad Williams when on nine on his way to his unbeaten 72 off 170 balls with seven fours.
Gilchrist got his right glove to the chance but the ball didn’t stick giving Dravid a big life early in his innings.
Chopra was trapped leg before wicket by Gillespie in the sixth over of the day.
Sehwag was out impulsively advancing down the wicket to leg-spinner Stuart MacGill only to be stumped by Gilchrist well out of his ground. — Sapa-AFP