Australia vs India 2018-19: This Is Not India's Greatest Overseas Triumph - Sanjay Manjrekar
Updated - 09 Jan 2019, 12:52 PM
Indian National Cricket team scripted history when they became the first Indian team to win a series in Australia beating the hosts 2-1 in the four-match Border-Gavaskar Test series. While many tipped this as India’s best overseas victory, the former cricketer turned commentator, Sanjay Manjrekar denied agreeing to it.
Meanwhile, the visitors were dominant throughout the series winning the Adelaide and the Boxing Day Test. The bowlers did a fantastic well-supported by the batters. Coming to the final Test at the Sydney with a 21 lead, India had to secure a draw to reach the landmark. However, they started the match on a high after opting to bat first on flat deck. Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant scored centuries well supported by others as India declared at 622 for seven.
They once again continued their superb job with the ball as Kuldeep Yadav stepped up to pick five wickets in his very first Test on Australian soil. Virat Kohli enforced a follow-on on the host after bowling them out for 300 in the first innings. However, the umpires had to call off the fourth day’s play early due to bad light, and it never resumed since then.
This is not the best overseas win
After 74 years and 11 failed attempts, India have finally ticked all the boxes to create history. However, Sanjay Manjrekar doesn’t feel this is India’s best win and rated it as the fourth best overseas victory.
“We have to understand that this Australian batting lineup is the weakest. And before the series began, India had a good chance of winning. But because India weren’t winning in South Africa and England despite having a good team there was that question mark. So, No.4. Although the quality of the Indian bowling attack was good. But India had a weakness too – going into the series their batting had a problem. And the series would have been a lot closer had Pujara, after India were 40 for 4 on Day 1 (at Adelaide) not got that hundred,” Manjrekar said to ESPNcricinfo.
Sanjay Manjrekar rates India’s biggest overseas series win in Tests:
1) India in England in 1971 – 1-0 (3)
2) India in West Indies in 1970/71 – 1-0 (5)
3) India in England in 1986 – 2-0 (3)
4) India in Australia in 2018/19 – 2-1 (4)
5) India in Pakistan in 2003/04 – 2-1 (3)
“Three-match series. India drew the first two. The opener was a close one – rain came and India had two wickets in hand and they had to get about 30 runs, they could have won that Test match or lost as well. But they competed well. Second Test match, they were a little lucky. And finally at Oval, that magic spell from Chandrashekar. They had to get about 170 runs. The pressure must have been immense. A David-Goliath situation and so it has to be No.1,” he concluded.
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Sanjay Manjrekar
