With the Indian cricket team having arrived in Australia for yet another grueling tour, we take a look back at India’s rare wins Down Under over the years. In the fifth and final part, we look at India’s maiden Test triumph at Perth, achieved during the 2007-08 tour.
The background: As India and Australia headed into Perth, the relations between the two sides could not have been worse. Although Australia won at Sydney, the Monkeygate controversy completed overshadowed the match. India threatened to boycott the tour if the ban handed to Harbhajan Singh wasn’t overturned. Steve Bucknor gave some of the most shocking reprieves to Andrew Symonds in the game – no other batsman might have received so many lives at the hands of an umpire. At the press conference, Anil Kumble famously said, “Only one team played in the spirit of the game.” It was against this backdrop that the teams headed to Perth.
The match: India won the toss, and batting first put up a competitive 330. Rahul Dravid led the way with 93, Sachin Tendulkar chipped in with 71. VVS Laxman, Irfan Pathan and Virender Sehwag all made 20s to help India reach a decent score. Extras were a prominent contributor with 37. For Australia, Mitchell Johnson was the hero with 4 for 86 and Brett Lee picked up 3 for 71. Stuart Clark also bowled well to claim his two wickets.
India responded magnificently with the ball. RP Singh led the way with figures of 4 for 68. He dismissed Mike Hussey and Adam Gilchrist among others to put the Aussies on the backfoot. Irfan Pathan, Anil Kumble and Ishant Sharma, who bowled that unforgettable spell to Ricky Ponting, all claimed two wickets each without giving away too many runs. Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist got half-centuries, but the rest couldn’t contribute a lot, giving India a significant lead.
The Indians batted well a second time round as well on a difficult pitch. Laxman was the hero this time, as he has often been against Australia, with a fighting 79. There were many other important contributions along the way. Sehwag made 43, Irfan, batting at number three, made 48, MS Dhoni 38 and RP Singh 30. Clark claimed four wickets for Australia, and Lee picked up three. Symonds also picked up two wickets, but Australia were still set 413 to win.
As expected, Australia fought hard in the final innings. Michael Clarke led the way with a fighting 81. Ponting and Hussey got 40s, but could not carry on. This is why India weren’t really under pressure out in the middle. Johnson blasted an unbeaten 50 towards the end of the innings and Clark made 32, but it was a case of a bit too late. Australia eventually folded up for 340. Pathan claimed three wickets while Singh, Kumble and Sehwag all picked up two wickets each. Considering all that transpired at Sydney, it was a stunning turnaround.
--By A Cricket Analyst
