India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth time in a row.
Australia made 175/2d in their second innings, as Head made 90 and forged a 139-run stand with Labuschagne (63*) when both the sides decided to shake hands and end the match. India had already retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after winning the first two Tests in Nagpur and Delhi, and despite losing in Indore, they managed to win the series 2-1.
In meantime, thanks to New Zealand’s close 2-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first Test in Christchurch, India also qualified for the final of the ICC World Test Championship for the second time in a row.
They will meet Australia in the final at the Oval from June 7-11.
Talking at the post-match presentation, Rohit Sharma said: “Was a fantastic series. Right from the word go, how exciting it was. A lot of the players are playing this for the first time. We do understand the importance of this series and the opposition. Lot of hard work has gone into this. At different times we have come up with answers. We knew how important it was to start the series well. The Delhi Test, I am very proud of. We were behind in the game.”
This was Rohit Sharma’s first time leading India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and he managed to win the series in what was seen as the toughest task of his short captaincy tenure.
“At Indore, we were put under pressure and lost the game. Different players put their hands up. Lot of guys took up the responsibility and bailed us out. Test Cricket is hard fought cricket and isn't easy. I am quite satisfied. I know what kind of benchmark I have set for myself. I keep the personal milestones aside. We have got the result from what I wanted from the series. To get the result makes us very happy.”
Both the teams will now move to a three-match ODI series which begins in Mumbai on March 17.
(Times of India/Star Sports inputs)