India reinforced their status as the world’s number one team and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a historic 2-1 series win.
Indian cricket got its new seminal moment after talismanic Virat Kohli led the country to a maiden series victory on Australian soil, ending a 71-year wait to script a golden chapter in the game’s history.
Coming into this fifth Test, India had an unassailable 2-1 series’ lead after winning the first Test in Adelaide by 31 runs and the third Test in Melbourne by 137 runs. Australia had won the second Test in Perth by 146 runs.
Australia were still trailing by 316 runs when the match was called off as a draw, ending India’s 71-year wait after wins in Adelaide and Melbourne. It is the first time India managed the feat since they began touring Australia in 1947-48. Consequently, Virat Kohli became the first Indian as well as the first Asian captain to win a Test series in Australia.
India’s Test series results in Australia :
| Year | Winner | Margin (Total number of Tests) |
|---|---|---|
| 1947/48 | Australia | 4-0 (5) |
| 1967/68 | Australia | 4-0 (4) |
| 1977/78 | Australia | 3-2 (5) |
| 1980/81 | Drawn | 1-1 (3) |
| 1985/86 | Drawn | 0-0 (3) |
| 1991/92 | Australia | 4-0 (5) |
| 1999/00 | Australia | 3-0 (3) |
| 2003/04 | Drawn | 1-1 (4) |
| 2007/08 | Australia | 2-1 (4) |
| 2011/12 | Australia | 4-0 (4) |
| 2014/15 | Australia | 2-0 (4) |
| 2018/19 | INDIA | 1-2 (4) |
“I want to say I’ve never been more proud of being part of a team, than this one right here.” said Kohli. “The boys make the captain look good. By far, this is my biggest achievement. It’s at the top of the pile.”
“It is a young bunch of guys and to have that belief to keep striving for excellence on a daily basis and to get a reward like this we definitely have to be happy.”
Kohli added: “We definitely want to build on this and always promote the message of Test cricket being the most important and the most valued format of the game, which it rightfully is. From where I see it, this is our vision for Indian cricket.”
Australia skipper Tim Paine paid tribute to India. “Have to tip our hat to India, we know how tough it is to win in Australia so congrats to Virat and (coach) Ravi (Shastri) because it’s a huge achievement,” he said. “Disappointed, definitely over the last two Tests. We had our chances in Adelaide, in Perth I thought we played some good cricket, but in Melbourne and Sydney, we’ve been outplayed.”
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