IND vs AUS, 4th Test: Head-Labuschagne bat it out to secure a draw; India wins series 2-1; Twitter gladdened

On an uneventful day of cricket, India qualified for the 2021-23 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final. It clinched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth successive time after the fourth and final match against Australia ended in a drab draw at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday. India's spot in the WTC Final against Australia was locked before the post-lunch session when Sri Lanka lost the Christchurch Test to New Zealand by two wickets as Kane Williamson's magnificent hundred steered his side to one of the most thrilling wins in Test cricket.

Australia was 175/2 in 78.1 overs in their second innings with a lead of 84 runs when the two teams agreed to settle for a draw. India has now beaten Australia by an identical 2-1 margin in the last four series -- 2017 (home), 2018-19 (away), 2020-21 (away) and now 2023 at home.

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It was a 'Memorable Monday' for India as a country in performing arts and sports, with 'RRR's song 'Natu Natu' getting the Oscar for the best song and Elephant Whisperers winning the 'Best Documentary Award'. By the afternoon, cricket added to the list of global accomplishments, and now, Rohit Sharma would love to break the decade-long International Cricket Council (ICC) trophy jinx.

Draw was the only result possible
With a featherbed of a track on offer, which former Australian opener Mark Waugh sarcastically said can host a "22-day Test match", an outcome favouring either side was almost impossible, with only two completed innings in four days. For Australia, its batters needed to make the best use of the flat surface without being under pressure, as they had already qualified for the WTC final.

Travis Head (90 off 163 balls) will undoubtedly put pressure on David Warner when he comes back, while Marnus Labuschagne (63 not out, 213 balls) also did well. The Indian team could feel chuffed after back-to-back WTC final qualifications. Still, head coach Rahul Dravid and Rohit would know that Australia will be a different proposition in the Final, where the track will certainly not aid the Indian spinners as it did in the first three Tests at home.

An Australian attack comprising Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, skipper Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon on an early June English track could be a handful. Still, India has won two series against this attack in Australia. In England, India will have to play with a single spinner, and that will be all-rounder Jadeja if he remains injury free. But, not having Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant will hurt it in England way more than it would have in Indian conditions, where spinners did the bulk of the job in favourable conditions.

KS Bharat (101 runs in four Tests) isn't cut out for elite cricket, and as a wicketkeeper, there aren't great shakes as he struggled against turning deliveries and when the wobbly seamers were bowling. He dropped three catches on the day, and having him as a keeper-batter in England would be a risk that Indian team management can ill afford.

KL Rahul's form deserted him big time, but two significant gains will boost the Indian team's confidence. At the start of the series, no one would have believed that Axar Patel (264 runs) would end up as the team's No. 2 run-getter behind Virat Kohli (297 runs) with three half-centuries in four games.

His batting has improved tremendously, but less than five wickets in a four-Test series, where he was grossly under-bowled, doesn't do justice to his abilities. Also, the Indian spin attack's limitations on a batting belter were exposed again. Ashwin had a tremendous first innings, taking six wickets and becoming the series' highest wicket-taker (25).

Ashwin, by far, looked the best spinner when the going got tough, but the same couldn't be said about Jadeja and Patel, who were pedestrian and slightly out of sync the moment the surface had nothing to offer. On the day, Head and Labuschagne hardly faced any difficulty playing the two left-arm spinners as they moved between the front foot and back foot at will. The only delivery from Patel that turned and bounced was the one that denied Head a well-deserved century.

(With inputs from PTI)