India have qualified for the final of the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final and have won a Test series for the fourth consecutive time against Australia by winning the 2023 Border Gavaskar Trophy 2-1 after a tame draw in the fourth Test match in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. The Rohit Sharma-led team had already retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy, but now they have also won the series on a standalone basis.
The fifth day proved to be an anticlimax as India failed to take advantage of their 91-run first innings lead as Australia safely batted out the day and saved the test before the two captains agreed for an early finish. The hosts bowled 78.1 overs in Australia’s third innings but managed to take just two wickets as Australia ended the day at 175-2.
The hosts got a massive first innings lead after centuries from Shubman Gill (128) and Virat Kohli (186). This was Kohli’s first century in the longest format of the game in more than three years, as he registered the 28th test century of his career. Axar Patel also played a vital knock of 79, which took away the pressure from the Indian batting unit.
Usman Khawaja’s fine century helped Australia put up a total of 480 on the board, while Ravichandran Ashwin bowled a stunning spell to take a six-wicket haul on a pitch that did not have much to offer the bowlers.
Earlier, India started the rise by taking a 2-0 lead with victories in the first two tests. The hosts won the series opener in Nagpur by a massive margin of an inning and 132 runs. The Rohit Sharma-led side won the second Test in Delhi by six wickets before Australia made a strong comeback to win the Indore Test by nine wickets.
