Dharamsala: Opener Lokesh Rahul and skipper Ajinkya Rahane steered India to an eight-wicket win in the fourth and final Test against Australia to secure a 2-1 series victory for the hosts at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium on Tuesday.
Rahul made an unbeaten 51 and Rahane added a quickfire 38 not out to help the hosts chase down the 106-run victory target with more than five sessions to spare and regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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Rahul scored the winning run, completing his sixth fifty of the series in the process.
Wrapping up the win appeared just a formality for India when their openers walked out to bat needing 87 runs to win the series with all 10 second innings wickets intact.
Josh Hazlewood was determined to make sure it was not a walk in the park, however, and struck Murali Vijay's pad back-to-back in the very first over. Both the leg-before appeals were turned down.
Rahul was fluent against spin, driving and sweeping Steve O'Keefe for a couple of boundaries in the left-arm spinner's second over of the day.
Pat Cummins injected brief excitement in his second over of the day when two Indian wickets fell.
The paceman dismissed Vijay caught behind for eight with his first delivery, and five balls later, a scoreless Cheteshwar Pujara, normally a good judge of singles, was run out chasing a risky run.Glenn Maxwell did an excellent job at point, where he collected Pujara's push and threw down the middle stump at the non-striker's end with the batsman well short of crease after a mix-up with Rahul.
Leading the side in the absence of injured regular skipper Virat Kohli, Rahane played aggressively, hitting Cummins for back-to-back sixes at the HPCA Stadium which debuted as a Test venue with this match.
"We want to be scoring big runs and taking big wickets, but at the end of the match, we want to standing behind that board that says 'champions'," Rahul said afterwards, calling it the best series he had ever played in.
"The way Jinx (Rahane) came out and started hitting Cummins for sixes was excellent. He came out with a clear mind and said 'let's not play this out, let's attack' and I said 'okay'."
The victory sealed India's seventh series win in a row, dating back to their triumph in Sri Lanka in August, 2015.
Magnificent series, says Smith
"Magnificent series," Australia captain Steven Smith said. "One of the best I have been a part of. Credit to India, they are a fantastic cricket side, particularly in their backyard."
The win also brought a successful end of India's 13-Test home season, in which they won 10, drew two and had the lone loss to Australia in the opener in Pune.
"To come back from 1-0 down against the Aussies, when you could see there were tired bodies out there was just brilliant," India coach Anil Kumble said.
"It was a tough game and after losing Virat through injury, it was really important that the team stood up. Rahane led the team brilliantly," the former captain added.