Australia was expected to blow away India at the Gabba for it has been a happy hunting ground for Australia over the last three decades. With the series tied 1-1 and everything to play for in the fourth and final test, both teams went hard at each other.
India showed immense character once again in the fourth test to play with an inexperienced bowling attack after all their front line bowlers were injured. India pulled off an amazing victory at the Gabba to win the series 2-1.
We take a look at the playing XI that took the field at the Gabba and rank them from 0 to 10. We first rate the batsmen and then move to the bowlers.
Indian Batsmen
R Sharma (4/10): was the senior opener in the side and needed to get some big runs at the Gabba. He did well in the first innings scoring 44 but failed in the second innings and got out for 7. However, given that Sharma came in with no match practice and straight from quarantine, he has had a decent series.
S Gill (7/10): failed in the first innings scoring just 7 but played a brilliant knock in the second innings and scored 91. The youngster will be kicking himself as he was so close to getting his first test hundred. However, India has found a great opener on this Australian tour in young Gill who looks to be the future of Indian cricket.
C Pujara (6/10): scored 25 in the first innings and played a very crucial knock in the second innings and scired 56. He ensured that Australia did not run through the Indian batting order. Pujara would have dearly liked to have got more runs in the fourth test but did his job at 3. However, some critics continue to question his low strike rate at number three as it does not give the innings the momentum it needs for India to take a commanding position.
A Rahane (5/10): scored 37 in the first innings and fell for 24 in the second innings when he was trying to force the pace and push for a win. Rahane as a batsman did not do well in the fourth test but as a captain, he has done phenomenally well and must be applauded for working with the limited and injured resources that he had.
M Agarwal (3/10): was brought into the middle order to replace the injured H Vihari. He made 38 in the first innings and made 9 in the second innings. He had a chance to play well in the second and take India home but failed. He will probably lose his place in the test side for the English series.
R Pant (9/10): made 23 in the first innings and played a fantastic match winning knock in the second innings scoring 89 and remained unbeaten.
Indian Bowlers
W Sundar (7/10): took the place of R Ashwin and did great taking 3 wickets in the first innings and 1 wicket in the second innings. What mattered the most was how well he played with the bat in the first innings making a brilliant 62 in a century run partnership with S Thakur. He also made a crucial 22 of 29 balls in the second innings to help India get close to a victory.
S Thakur (8/10): played his first test match and did well with both the bat and ball. With the bat, he made 67 runs that helped India stay in the game. With the ball, he took 3 wickets in the first innings and 4 wickets in the second innings, capping of a memorable debut for him.
T Natarajan (4/10): took 3 wickets in the first innings and none in the second. He will find it difficult to play in the test side as his batting is poor and he lacks pace.
N Saini (0/10): had a very poor match after injuring himself in the first innings and only bowling 5 overs in the second innings. He took no wickets and was very expensive. It is highly unlikely he will play in the test side anytime soon.
M Siraj (7/10): took 1 wicket in the first innings but came back strong in the second innings to take his first 5 wicket haul.
