Australia vs India 2018/19: 3 Takeaways from the first Test at Adelaide

It got a little too close in the end but Indian bowlers held their nerve on the final day to help the visitors win by 31 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the four-match Test series. The Kohli-led side has already created history as this is the first time an Indian team has won the first Test of a series Down Under.

This series was meant to put all the spotlight on the bowlers as both sides had plenty of quality, but it was a batsman who won the Man of the Match award. Cheteshwar Pujara’s knocks in both the innings made the difference between India and Australia.

While Australia managed to wrap up India’s second innings in a hurry, the damage was already done by the top order led by Pujara, who was well-supported by Rahane. Once the target went past 300, history suggests very few teams who have scored that many in the fourth innings to win a Test.

India’s quest to win their maiden series in this part of the world has started off in the most ideal fashion. Let’s take a look at the three takeaways from the first Border-Gavaskar Test at the Adelaide Oval.

#3 Support for Kohli in the middle order

Even though Indian bowlers had a great time in the earlier overseas tours of South Africa and England, they lost both the series mainly due to batting failures. Virat Kohli was sublime but lack of support from others meant India were always few runs short.

To be successful with the bat in Australian conditions, you must have the technique to counter bounce, as there won't be much sideways movement primarily because of the hot conditions. Further, the Kookaburra ball loses its hardness after a few overs.

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane showed great technique out in the middle and the great thing about India’s victory was that they could manage to go 1-0 up without great contributions from their captain Kohli, and that augurs well for the visitors.