India vs Australia Flashback: The Emotional Tour Of 2014-15

India's tour of Australia in 2014-15 was an emotional roller-coaster for both teams. Indians lost the series 2-0 but showed the world new young energy which was never seen before. 

2014 was a year that shook the cricketing world forever. Just before the Indian tour of Australia was about to start, the crowd went silent as Phil Hughes fell on the ground and never got up. 

India was coming from a tough tour of England as they lost the series 3-1. Australians were hurt as well, they suffered a 2-0 defeat against Pakistan in UAE, but they were more in the pain of losing a colleague, a player, and a friend.  

The tour was originally scheduled to start on 4 December but, it got postponed due to the sudden demise of Hughes. Adelaide had to host the first test match instead of Brisbane. 

First Test Match(Adelaide), 9-13 Dec: MS Dhoni got ruled out of the first test due to injury. Virat Kohli got the opportunity to be the stand-in captain for the match. Australians won the toss and were off to a fantastic start. David Warner, Michael Clarke, and Steve Smith gave an emotional tribute to their late friend Phil Hughes, who was named as the 13th man of the squad, as they reached their centuries in the first innings. Aussies declared at 517/7. India gave a good fight back in the second innings on the bank of Virat Kohli's century.

Australians started their third innings with a healthy lead and another century by Warner gave India a target of 364 to chase in the fourth innings. Nobody gave India a chance at the start of the innings. But, at the of the game, a new era of Indian cricket had risen. A new captain, a new hope in the name of Virat Kohli was born. He couldn't take the team home as India fell short by 48 runs, however, India now knew how to fight back. Nathan Lyon was adjudged man of the for his 12 wickets in the match. Michael Clarke injured his right hamstring during this match and decided not to play again in international cricket.

Brief Score: Australia - 517/7D & 290/5D; India - 444 & 315 

Player of the match - Nathan Lyon(5/134, 7/152) 

 

Second test match(Brisbane), 17-21 Dec: MS Dhoni was back in the team as captain while Steve Smith was handed over the Test captaincy in place of Michael Clarke.  Dhoni won the toss and made Australia field for four sessions as Indian batsmen piled up 408 runs. Murali Vijay scored a marvelous century and was well supported by Ajinkya Rahane who scored 81 runs. Debutant Josh Hazlewood took a fifer as well. Aussies once again came back hard in the batting as the Indian bowlers looked clueless against unstoppable Steve Smith as he smashed another century.

India, trailing by 97 runs, started well in the third innings but lost the plot as the lower order couldn't score much. Aussies, chasing the target of 126, lost six wickets but never lost control of the game and finished the match inside a session. Steve Smith was named man of the match. 

Brief Score: India - 408 & 224; Australia - 505 & 130/6 

Player of the match - Steve Smith(133, 28)

 

Third test match(Melbourne), 26-30 Dec: Captain Steve Smith won the toss and once again made India sweat hard for wickets on the first day. Smith scored yet another century and got out eight runs short of his double century. Australia once again scored more than 500 runs. Indian batsmen fought hard in the second innings. Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane made Aussies run hard for wickets. India, despite a wonderful batting display from the middle order, never got support from the lower end and got bowled out of 465. 

Australians, in the third innings, piled up 318 runs before declaring the innings and gave India a target of 384 to chase on the last day. The target was never in reach but India survived. MS Dhoni shook hands at the end of the day and much to everyone's surprise announced his retirement. Ryan Harris was awarded man of the match for his six wickets.  

Brief Score: Australia - 530 & 318/9D; India - 465 & 174/6 

Player of the match - Ryan Harris(4/70, 2/30) 

 

Fourth test match(Sydney), 6-10 Jan: Virat Kohli, after MS Dhoni's retirement, was made the permanent captain of the Indian test team. Australians after electing to bat first thrashed the Indian bowlers as they went on to score 572 runs before declaring the innings. It was the first time, all the top 6 batsmen of Australia scored at least fifty runs in the first innings of a test match. Warner and Smith - the usual suspects, scored centuries. KL Rahul, who made his test debut in the previous match, scored his first century in test cricket. Kohli once again troubled Australian bowlers as he scored his fourth century of the series. India got bowled out for 475 runs. 

Aussies, in their third innings with a healthy lead,  scored with a good run rate and declared at 251 runs giving Indians a target of 349 to chase. Indians played with some positive intent and survived almost 90 overs as the match ended in a draw. India lost the Border-Gavaskar trophy 2-0. Yet, It was the start of a new era for Indian cricket with young energy and captain. Australians gave a perfect tribute to their late teammate Philip Hughes by dedicating the trophy to him. Steve Smith has adjudged player of the match and series. 

Brief Score: Australia - 572/7D & 251/6D; India - 475 & 252/7 

Player of the match - Steve Smith(117, 71)