The Australia captain Steven Smith accepts the series trophy from Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar.
Post match presentation
Steven Smith: "Very good series win, that is the most important thing for us. Tough day in the office for us. We did not get the variable bounce we were expecting on a day five pitch. There were a couple of chances that did not come off the glove and things like that. Credit to India for the way they played today. Really enjoyed this series, some pretty flat wickets and I have enjoyed batting, to make four hundreds in a series is very satisfying. I have really enjoyed captaining these guys, they played their hearts out today."
Virat Kohli: "It has been a hard fought series. We wanted to play hard cricket, give a fight, and that is what the boys have done. In Adelaide, and even today we thought we had a chance, but Australia kept coming back. The way they have composed themselves after the (Phillip Hughes) incident and come out is commendable. The match could have gone either way. At tea time, I was not 100% sure if we wanted to go for the target. After Vijay got out, I thought why not take a chance, we are not coming back here for a while, If it does not happen it does not. The intent and character the side is showing is important. These guys have stepped up and shown they have the character and game at the international level, Rahul especially after the kind of debut he had. It is tough in Australia, I have experienced that before."
Steven Smith is the Man of the Match and the Man of the Series
Match Drawn. Australia won the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2-0. Ajinkya Rahane led India to a draw in the 4th Test in Sydney. Very well-deserved.
89.5 overs- 252/7
Last over of the day
86 overs- 238/7
Rahane- 33 off 72b, Bhuvaneshwar- 11 off 23
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar playing with a calm assurance.
84 overs- 230/7
And that's a maiden over from Nathan Lyon
82 overs- 226/7
Bhuvaneshwar- 7 off 11, Rahane- 25 off 60
Very tense finish to this match
Can Aus ever win a test match in Sydney against India without umpires helping them with all 50-50 decisions in favour of Aus? #INDvsAUS
— Reem (@reemsaied) January 10, 2015
Ryan Harris gets the new ball
3 wickets to win, Minimum 9 overs.
78.2- 217/7
OUT! Ashwin LBW b Hazlewood. 1 off 22 balls. Kettleborough was quick to raise his finger. Hazlewood strikes the pad with late inswing from a good length, Ashwin cannot get bat around pad in time, it hits him just below the knee roll.
Too close to call - my decision, whatever the replay etc might say! @ashwinravi99 NO! #IndvsAus
— sumanth paranji (@sumanthparanji) January 10, 2015
77 overs- 217/6
India require another 134 runs with 4 wickets remaining
75 overs- 215/6
Rahane- 22 off 39, Ashwin- 0 off 12
Final drinks break of the game
74 overs-214/6
OUT! Nathan Lyon strikes as Saha is adjudged plumb. Umpire Dharmasena does not hesitate in giving the LBW.
WP Saha lbw b Lyon 0 off 6b
69 overs- 203/5
Two wickets in this over
It's a real test for the Indian batsmen now. Swing, bounce, spin. #INDvsAUS #SydneyTest
— Manthan Mehta (@manthan909) January 10, 2015
Wriddhiman Saha comes in.
68.3 overs- 203/5
Starc to Raina, OUT, Raina has two ducks in his comeback Test. This one strikes him on the knee roll, umpire gives it right away
SK Raina lbw b Starc 0 off 3b
67 overs- 201/4
66.5 overs- OUT! Starc strikes. That one is caught in the slips by Watson and captain Kohli has to go. Shane Watson does well as that was going in between the first and second slip
V Kohli c Watson b Starc 46 off 95b
Starc has just given 15 runs in the last 12 overs
66 overs- 197/3
Virat takes a short step forward, doesn't commit too much on front foot.
63 overs- 184/3
Confidence of runs under Rahane's belt
Kohli- 34 off 76, Rahane- 5 off 7
Hazlewood giving some late swing.
Ajinkya Rahane will take some time to get set before he gets moving. India were set.
OUT! Murali Vijay nicks one to glovesman Haddin off a Hazlewood delivery. Clear cut nick. Hazlewood deserved that, been remarkable. He tries to cut one.
M Vijay c †Haddin b Hazlewood 80 off 165b
60 overs- 177/2
Virat Kohli will take the singles and Vijay will target the boundaries
India are an ODI team. They exactly know how to chase down targets
The closer it gets, more nervous the Australian captain will get.
ODI mode activated! #indvsaus
— Nish de Gea (@RootKanal) January 10, 2015
Murali Vijay starts battoong aggressively. Takes on fast bowlers.
A Crucial Partnership Building Here! Looks Like We Are in For an Eventful Final Session! #INDvsAUS
— Aпaптнυ (@itsananthu) January 10, 2015
Tea: 57 overs- 160/2- India go into the final session of the series after having lost two wickets, requiring 189 runs. Around 33 overs to go. This amounts to run a ball. Will India go for it? The same pair (of Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay) was batting at tea in Adelaide, where India required 159 in the last session. They went for it but went down in the process. Lyon's bowling will give India a lot of scoring opportunities.
Murali- 71 off 56, Kohli- 26 off 56
52 overs- 134/2
If india can score another 50 runs in next 10 overs then india can go for win by sending Shami up of the batting order #INDvsAUS
— Fafdaholic! (@fafdaholic) January 10, 2015
Half Century for Murali Vijay. It has been wonderful seeing him bat. 10th fifty in 31 Test Matches. Scores 50 off 135 balls
49 overs- 129/2. India need 220 more runs to win
Kohli- 19 off 38, Vijay- 47 off 126
Australia needs wickets.
47 overs- 118/2
Consecutive maidens.
The Indian batsmen have gone into a shell here. #IndvsAus
— Anurag B (@AnuragB56) January 10, 2015
44 overs- 114/2
42 overs- 110/2
Vijay- 46 off 110, Kohli- 6 off 12
Virat Kohli is in, Hazlewood is back
38 overs- 104/2. India require another 245 runs with 8 wickets remaining
OUT! Shane Watson strikes again. Very lazy shot from Rohit Sharma. Absolute blinder from the captain. He sets the example. Rohit Sharma once again promising a lot but not delivering. Scores 39 off 90. Watson to Sharma, OUT, Captain Smith shows the way it is done with an absolute stunner at wide slip, Rohit tries to dab a short of a length ball, Smith goes flying to his right to take it one-handed, soft dismissal for Rohit yet again, and Watson breaks another partnership
Reverse swing; turn; a catch dropped; a blinder taken; a lbw denied: cricket's buzzing now #INDvsAUS
— Sambit Bal (@sambitbal) January 10, 2015
Vijay dropped by Shaun Marsh at short extra cover. Anyone keeping a count on the number of catches Australia have dropped in this match. Very ordinary fielding in the last two test matches. They cannot expect to win test matches if they drop such kind of catches on a flat pitch.
Vijay, you better make good use of this second chance #INDvsAUS
— SM (@TheHumerus) January 10, 2015
8:18 IST Saturday, 10 January 2015
36 overs-90/1. India need 259 more runs to win from 54 overs.
It looks like India are playing for a draw at the moment.
Rohit- 32 off 83, Vijay-29 off 93
India can win this last test match easily but it all depends on its in form batsmen : #INDvsAUS #StarSportsHD
— Bhagyashree Parida (@bhagyashree986) January 10, 2015
33 overs- 84/1
Ryan Harris bowling a tight line
Murali Vijay has called the phsiotherapist. He is feeling the physical strain.
Nathan Lyon to start
India require another 276 runs with 9 wickets remaining
Neither sides have made much progress, but the match is wide open
Lunch- Multiple close calls on a wearing day five surface, but India have got through the first session for the loss of Rahul. Rohit took 20 balls to get off the mark but made up for lost ground by playing some good shots after he got in to rhythm. Vijay has been solid again. Australians bowling with a lot of discipline again.
29 overs- 73/1
Rohit- 19 off 57, Vijay- 35 off 77
Mitchell Starc gets a bit of bounce and hits the head of the bat.
Australian bowlers not conceding too many runs. Some disciplined bowling there. Nathan Lyon had conceded 28 runs in his first 4 overs but he has pulled it back.
24 overs- 64/1
Vijay- 32 off 36, Rohit- 13 off 41
Rohit Sharma occasionally coming on the front foot. Good footwork.
21 overs- 51/1. India require another 298 runs with 9 wickets remaining
Murali Vijay seems more comfortable against the spinners. Should take more strike against Lyon.
16 overs- 48/1
Murali Vijay- 29 off 46, Rohit- 0 off 10
13.2 overs- India have lost KL Rahul early. The young lad who scored his maiden century in the first innings did not last long against a fiery Australian attack.
KL Rahul c Warner b Lyon 16 40b
Welcome to the coverage of Day 5 of the 4th Test between India and Australia at Sydney. The day begins at 5 am IST. Australia have declared after their overnight score of 6 for 251, which means India have a target of 349.
Day 4 was certainly Australia's day, as they ended on 251/6 in just 40 overs, after India were bowled out for 475. This means Australia have a lead of 348 and could decide to declare overnight itself. Here's the match report from Day 4.
Alternatively, Australia could bat on for a while in fear that Indian captain Virat Kohli may go for a win. But that would not be the Aussie way, and it would make matters very difficult for the home team on a placid Sydney wicket. Though Day 4 star Joe Burns claimed that spinners would be very crucial on the last day, it is unlikely that the wicket will turn square.
R Ashwin on the other hand had the humility to accept that India conceded too many runs too quickly in Australia's second innings. Ashwin took 4 Aussie wickets but conceded 105 runs off his 19 overs. Everyone with the exception of Suresh Raina (who bowled just 4 overs) was taken for over 5 an over, and Umesh Yadav actually gave away 45 off his three overs.
Fortunately or otherwise, India's bowlers can merely await a declaration on Saturday morning. It is their batsmen who have to do the heavy lifting. Though the pitch is flat, an Indian collapse can never be ruled out. By the law of averages, Virat Kohli has done too much on his own and may have an odd bad outing . KL Rahul has just scored a maiden century. Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane though can be expected to make amends for their first innings failures. And the tail might wag a bit because of Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, as it did in the first innings. If India get their basics right, they should draw the match without much difficulty.
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