TheSportsCampus

The final day of the test series, followed a familiar trend as the final four Indian wickets fell within the first hour of play to cap off what was another disappointing series away from home for the Indians. The final nail in 4-0 coffin was set up brilliantly on the back of 2 splendid double hundreds in the first innings from Ponting (221) and Clarke (210) that saw the Australians post a mammoth 604. The bowlers did brilliantly once again on what were probably the best batting conditions in the series to bowl out India twice below 300 on the back of a 5 wicket haul from Mr. Consistent Peter Siddle in the first innings and a 4 wicket haul from local boy Nathan Lyon in the second, thus ensuring that the famed Indian batting line up didn't get away at any stage. India were thrashed yet again by a massive margin of 298 runs, outclassed by the rampant Aussies in all departments of the game, that saw them lose their 8th test match in a row, away from home.

The Australians, needing just 4 wickets on the final day of the series to accomplish a well deserved 4-0 whitewash of the Indian team down under, finished things off in style needing just 14.2 overs on the day to complete the inevitable.

The first to go on the final morning was the night watchman Ishant Sharma, who feathered one through to Brad Haddin poking at a ball outside the off-stump from Ryan Harris after having made just 2. Saha followed soon after in similar fashion, edging a good length delivery from Peter Siddle through to Haddin after making 3. Zaheer Khan at number 10,  made 15 entertaining runs, backing away and slogging a couple over the infield before he played one shot too many and spooned a catch to short Cover off Hilfenhaus. Ashwin made a steady 15* to get India past the 200 mark but was left stranded in the end with Yadav falling caught behind to Nathan Lyon granting him a 4 wicket haul. It was yet another tame surrender by the Indians in this series as they were left to admire their hosts celebrate.

Hence, after yet another shambolic display with the bat that saw them put up their 7th score below 300 in 8 innings, the Indian cricket team did nothing to redress the imminent clean sweep of the series, which is now the second in as many series abroad. They were comprehensively beaten in all departments of the game and with some aged Indian batting greats all set to bid goodbye to their illustrious careers in the near future, the team has got its task cut out to rebuild with some promising young players in the future. The Australians on the contrary, are a team back on the rise after a slump that saw them fall to 5th in the ICC test rankings and will be looking to continue this rapid transition under the impressive leadership of Michael Clarke.

Teams:

Australia: D Warner, Ed Cowan, S Marsh, R Ponting, M Clarke, M Hussey, B Haddin, P Siddle, N Lyon, B Hilfenhaus, R Harris

India: V Sehwag, G Gambhir, R Dravid, S Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, V Kohli, W Saha, R Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, I Sharma, U Yadav

Mini Scorecard

Australia 1st innings 604/7 declared (150 overs, 3.84rpo)
R Ponting 221 (404) R Ashwin 3/179
M Clarke 210 (275) Z Khan 2/96

India 1st Innings 272 all out (95.1 overs, 2.85rpo)
V Kohli 116 (182) P Siddle 5/49
W Saha 35 (94) B Hilfenhaus 3/62

Australia 2nd innings 167/5 (14 overs, 3.57rpo)
D Warner 28 (39) R Ashwin 2/24
E Cowan 10 (27) Z Khan 1/24

India 2nd Innings 201 all out (69.4 overs, 2.86)
V Sehwag 62(53) R Harris 3/41
VVS Laxman 35(88) N Lyon 4/63