India win maiden Test series in Australia: Twitterati hail Kohli & Co. for standing tall Down Under

Sydney, Jan 7: Rain played spoilsport and a bit of anti-climax as the fourth and final Test was abandoned due to bad weather but India won the series 2-1 in Sydney to claim their first-ever series win on the Australian soil here on Monday (January 7).

After the first session was washed out, the match officials finally decided to call off the game at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) as Team India retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy Down Under to script history. Virat Kohli, thus, became the first Indian captain to lift the Border Gavaskar Trophy on the Australian soil.

India clinch series in Australia

India needed all 10 Australian wickets to win this match by an innings and wrap up the series 3-1 but a draw prevented them from getting a desirable result. A draw couldn't hamper the result of the series as the tourists had taken an unassailable 2-1 lead in Melbourne. India were likely to have won the Sydney Test as well, if not for rain, and would have wrapped up the series by a margin of 3-1. India completely deserved to be the better side for they dominated this series from the very first match.

After winning the opening Test in Adelaide, Kohli and his boys suffered a defeat in second at WACA but the way they came back to win the third one in Melbourne spoke volumes about the character of this side as they took an unassailable 2-1 lead.

Cheteshwar Pujara - who slammed mammoth 193 in the first innings - was awarded the Player of the match. Pujara who smashed three centuries and aggregated 521 runs at an average of 74 also got the Player of the Series trophy for his superb batting performance. Kuldeep Yadav (5-99), Ravindra Jadeja (81 runs and 2-73), and Rishabh Pant (159*) were the standout performers in the game that ended in a draw.

Here's how the cricketing fraternity and fans reacted on India's historic series win Down Under:

President of India:

Congratulations to @imVkohli and his team for reaching one of Indian cricket’s final frontiers and winning a test series in Australia for the first time. Gritty batting, marvellous fast bowling and a fine team effort has done us proud. Let’s make a habit of it! #PresidentKovind

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 7, 2019

Prime Minister of India:

A historic cricketing accomplishment in Australia!

Congratulations to the Indian Cricket Team for the hard-fought and richly deserved series victory.

The series witnessed some memorable performances and solid teamwork.

Best wishes for the various games ahead.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 7, 2019

BCCI:

Jai Hind #TeamIndia 🇮🇳🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/meUaiPq2YJ

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 7, 2019

ICC:

Q: "Is this your best achievement?"
Kohli: "By far. It has to be at the top of the pile!"

Absolute #scenes in Sydney, where the Indian team are celebrating winning a Test series in Australia for the first time! #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/THu44fDRo3

— ICC (@ICC) January 7, 2019

Sachin Tendulkar:

An amazing day for Indian cricket! The resilience and determination of #TeamIndia has made this a series to be cherished. Proud of the boys. #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/qPPXhYnKzM

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 7, 2019

Suresh Raina:

When was the last time you did something for the first time? Historic 1st Test Series win for India in Australia! Superb effort by #TeamIndia ! It may have ended in rain but that’s not going to dampen the celebrations! Proud #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/xVN9OZtye5

— Suresh Raina🇮🇳 (@ImRaina) January 7, 2019

Tom Moody:

@imVkohli and his men have made history, well played India by far the better team over the series. Many more successes for this team in the near future! #AUSvIND

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) January 7, 2019

Harsha Bhogle:

India will be buoyed by the fact that so many contributed to this win. Key innings from Agarwal and Rahane, top spells from Ishant and Shami, each of the three spinners, the growth of Pant, a great century from Kohli.....

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 7, 2019

Aakash Chopra:

Out-Bowling the current Australian bowling line-up.
Neutralising the same with the bat in their backyard.
Winning an ‘away’ series without Kohli having a great series with the bat.
Series of Pujara. Series of Bumrah. 😊🙌👏👏 #AusvInd

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 7, 2019

Mohammed Kaif:

The first ever Asian Team to win a Test Series in Australia. Congratulations #TeamIndia @BCCI . Every Indian is very proud of this historic win pic.twitter.com/0jpb2SugDS

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) January 7, 2019

Glenn McGrath:

Congratulations to @imVkohli & his Indian Team on winning their first ever series in Australia. They outplayed @CAComms in all departments. Very well deserved. #AUSvIND #pinktest https://t.co/UkEJcrzJ3I

— Glenn McGrath (@glennmcgrath11) January 7, 2019

Harbhajan Singh:

Proud of you guys🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳..Well done Team India for winning the test series in Australia.. congratulations @cheteshwar1 for winning MOS u been a backbone of indian batting line up.. keep it up 🔥🏏@BCCI bowling wise @Jaspritbumrah93 has been phenomenal..love ur work ⭐️💪

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) January 7, 2019

Damien Fleming:

Well done to 🇮🇳 👏
🏏 1st series win in Oz
🏏 Kohli’s drive
🏏 Pujara Precision
🏏 Bumrah brilliance #AusvInd https://t.co/yy4VNmabVQ

— Damien Fleming (@bowlologist) January 7, 2019

Michael Clarke:

Congratulations team 🇮🇳 on a very well played Test Match series 2-1 👏🏻🏏

— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) January 7, 2019

Brydon Cloverdale:

After 70 years of touring Australia, India have won their first Test series here. Hugely significant achievement. And forget how bad Australia have been, with this attack India would have been a good chance of winning even if Smith and Warner had played. #AUSvIND

— Brydon Coverdale (@brydoncoverdale) January 7, 2019

Isa Guha:

Huge congrats to India - privileged to see how they have built towards this. Happy for @RaviShastriOfc too having swapped the comms box for the greatest honour of all. Love @RishabPant777 photobombing the bowling trio #AUSvIND #tracerbullet pic.twitter.com/yGzTcYwelf

— Isa Guha (@isaguha) January 7, 2019

Gautam Gambhir:

Congratulations India on a stupendous victory. It’s a big day for us as sporting nation. For once,let’s not debate or dissect the impact of absence of Warner/Smith, let’s just savour the moment and be proud. Let’s be together on this one at least! @BCCI @SPNSportsIndia #INDvAUS

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) January 7, 2019

Rick Eyre:

King Kohli. pic.twitter.com/qHkCuC7XMl

— Rick Eyre on cricket (@rickeyrecricket) January 7, 2019

Bishan Singh Bedi:

Kudos to Team Ind fr recovering lot o lost ground n Sth Afr/Eng-truly remarkable feat-beating Aust fr 1st time n their own backyard-2 guys @cheteshwar1 & @Jaspritbumrah93 personified consistency-all playing X1’s gr8 resolve/determination helped cross the Rubicon..Congrats All!

— Bishan Bedi (@BishanBedi) January 7, 2019

Cheteshwar Pujara:

It's been such a wonderful few weeks in Australia, something that has become historic! Every second the team put has paid off so well. Thank you all for the love and wishes pouring in. It's been an overwhelming day, a day I'll cherish for the rest of my life! #TeamIndia #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/oQAqTCVtHE

— cheteshwar pujara (@cheteshwar1) January 7, 2019

KL Rahul:

What a team. What a feeling. 🇮🇳 #INDvsAUS #2-1 pic.twitter.com/R19EJIcrAz

— K L Rahul (@klrahul11) January 7, 2019

Hardik Pandya:

Teamwork makes the dream work 😎 HIS🏆ORIC win for an incredible team 🇮🇳💙 pic.twitter.com/tKnv36XuEE

— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) January 7, 2019