India vs Australia, 4th Test - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Six months. Thirteen Tests. Four opponents. And it ends with just the contest to take it into the school syllabus for future generations. The winter takes the whites along with it, once again while showing you just why this walled fort is so hard to be breached. Rather rudely. It was a pleasure bringing you this season. The end of all the cheers, shrieks, laughs and abuses. On behalf of all the familiar culprits, Srivathsa, Pradeep Krishnamurthy, Ramakrishnan, Akshay Maanay, Vineet Anantharaman and Sreenivas, it is time to pack our bags. Now disperse, switch loyalties, blow your city trumpets. Ta ta!!

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Deepu Narayanan as always has pulled some eye-catching numbers from his bag. Have a look:

Six fifties in a series without a 100:
C Hunte v Australia, 1965
A Border v England, 1989
M Atherton v Australia, 1993
C Rogers v India, 2014/15
KL Rahul, 2017

Teams to hold the trophy against all nine opponents simultaneously:
Australia (Oct 2004-Sep 2005)
Australia (Dec 2006-Nov 2008)
South Africa (Dec 2012-Mar 2014)
India (Dec 2007-Mar 2017)

India winning a series after losing the 1st Test:
v England, 1972 (Home)
v Australia, 2001 (Home)
v Sri Lanka, 2015 (Away)
v Australia, 2017 (Home)

Indian captains winning their first Test:
P Umrigar
S Gavaskar
R Shastri
S Tendulkar
S Ganguly
V Sehwag
A Kumble
MS Dhoni
A Rahane

Pujara this season:
TESTS: 23 innings, 1316 runs @63 (4 X 100s; 8 X 50s)
FC: 29 innings, 2064 runs @83 (7 X 100s; 10 X 50s)

- 26th win for India against Australia - the most for them against an opposition.

- This was the 7th successive series win for India. Only England (1884-92) & Australia (2005-08) have more successive series wins - nine each.

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Gavaskar now presents the ICC Test Championship Mace and a winner's cheque of 1 million dollars to Virat Kohli as India finish the April 1 cut-off date as the top ranked Test team.

The legendary Sunil Gavaskar hands over the Border-Gavaskar trophy to Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, who take the trophy and join their team-mates to pose with the "Champions" board.

Kohli (2/2): "There has not been one or two individuals that have stood out. In the bowling department there have been five, six guys. In the batting department there have been guys who have scored throughout the season and the responsibility has been shared - that's the only way you can become the No. 1 team in the world. It's been a team season. Lot of credit has to go to all the boys on a daily basis to improve our skills. The kind of fitness they (fast bowlers) have showed and the desire (to win) has been the main difference. It started from the South African series, right till the end of this series, I think their contribution has been game-changing. Of course the spinners have dominated, but the role the fast bowlers played was brilliant to watch. A lot of credit to all these victories goes to them as well. It is still a few weeks to go till I can be 100 percent on the field (talking about his shoulder injury). These things happen in your career, just got to take it in my stride and move forward."

Kohli (1/2): "Unbelievable feeling. I think this is the best series win for us so far. The last time when we beat England I thought that was an intense series, but this time around the fight the Australian team gave on their part was really amazing. But our guys bounced back and showed the true character of the side. You want to be in the thick of things, but sitting from the outside, it was great to see the way the guys handled situations and the way Ajinkya captained. The responsibility shown by all the guys in the team was really pleasing to see, especially from the outside. The changes made to our fitness regime has paid off I guess. That's been the key difference for us. In the past we might have given away the game in a few sessions, but the ability to keep bouncing back, starting from No. 7 and finishing as No. 1 at the end of the season is an outstanding achievement, especially very proud as a captain."

Rahane (2/2): "I was just thinking about the Sri Lanka game when we lost chasing 130 (sic) odd runs. We were a bit in a shell. So I just wanted to play positively and take the momentum forward here. Rahul from the other end played really well and I just had to take my chances. Credit to Australia for playing some good cricket and fighting hard. I felt this was the best wicket (of the series). It had good pace, bounce and the ball was turning as well from Day 1. If you apply well, it is still good to bat on and very easy to score runs because of the bounce."

Rahane (1/2): "Really enjoyed the game. Credit to all the boys, not only in this series, but throughout the season. Everyone stepped up when needed. Really happy as a captain, unfortunately Virat got injured for this game. We decided during lunch time on Day 1 that if we stop the runs and take one wicket - only Smith and Warner were scoring the runs - we can capitalise from there. I thought the way Kuldeep bowled after lunch was great. He was bowling really well in the nets and he has the X-factor in him. We all had the confidence in Kuldeep. I felt the bowlers from the other end also maintained the pressure. The kind of bowling Umesh, Bhuvi, Ishant, Shami did throughout the season was good to see from the slip and gully region."

Jadeja: I am feeling good; being the No. 1 Test bowler and did well in the home season. Feeling very happy being part of this champion team. When I was batting, I thought I would take my time and play. Matthew Wade kept talking and that kept motivating me, I had to answer with the runs. I had to stay till the end. That is what the captain and coach told me, to believe in myself. Overall as a player it is important to develop. People were telling I was not a Test player and this an answer to them. I just try to improve day-by-day and be a better player. From one end he (Ashwin) picks wickets and I do the same from the other, it keeps the pressure on the batsman. It is also a different variation. No team likes to play spinners. We discuss a lot about how to bowl and plan accordingly. We need to do this outside India as well and keep this winning momentum going. The confidence is developing and I will try my best to get a hundred and do the double-bat sword celebration. It was a good wicket for the fast bowlers because of the bounce and seam movement. The fast bowlers would have enjoyed it. When we lost the toss and bowled, there was not much help for the spinners. But we kept it tight and allowed the fast bowlers to keep the pressure on.

Ravindra Jadeja is the Man of the Match and also the Man of the Series

Smith (3/3): "It (Dharamsala) is one of the most picturesque grounds with this amazing mountain in the background. It was a very good wicket here. It had pace and bounce, that's what we Australians like. Probably the quickest wicket we have played on (in this series) and it suited the spinners as well. If you were willing to bide time, you could score runs as well. I have been pretty intense throughout the series. I really wanted to do well for my team and lead from the front with my performance. At times I was probably in my own little bubble and let my emotions slip a little bit, so I apologise for that. I really enjoyed playing this series. It's been a great learning curve for me an individual and as a captain of this team as well."