Breaking News! Australia wrapped up the Indian innings by taking the remaining four wickets very quick, as India slumped to a 298-run defeat in the 4th and final Test match in Adelaide. Australia won the Test series 4-0.

 

This is the 8th consecutive overseas loss for Team India and second consecutive whitewash. India had lost to England 4-0 before winning 2-0 against the West Indies on home soil.

 

Chasing a victory target of 500, India bowled out for 201 and lost the Test by 298 runs. Sehwag was the top scorer at 62, while Laxman made 35. Dravid scored 25, followed by Kohli's 22. Nathan Lyon took 4 wickets. Harris took three wickets.

 

Australia had declared their first innings at 604/7. India could manage just 272 in the first innings, thanks to Virat Kohli's 116. Peter Siddle had taken 5 wickets in the first innings.

 

Siddle was declared 'Man of the Match', while Michael Clarke was declared 'Man of the Series' for a triple hundred and another double hundred. He also led his young and inexperienced team to a 4-0 whitewash against the World's No. 2 team.

 

Ben Hilfenhaus took 27 wickets in this series. Siddle took 23 wickets. Michael Clarke lead the batting figure with 626 from 6 innings. Ironically, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman scored 636 runs in 24 innings altogether.

 

Ironically, even after this shameless and humiliating performance down under, skipper Virender Skipper told the media that no senior players are considering retirement and they will continue to play Test Cricket.

 

Sehwag seeks to forget all bitter memories and start afresh with better planning and coordination. He put the blame on batsmen for the debacle. He also said that India did not get a good start in any of the Tests. However, Sehwag gave a clean chit to Coach Duncan Fletcher.

 

Even though the millionaires senior cricketers like Sehwag, Dravid, Laxman and Tendulkar will never think of a retirement at this juncture, the Indian selectors should be ready to take some brave decisions so that players like Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Robin Bisht and Rituraj Singh don't remain in oblivion always.

 

India's next series is almost eight months away. So, it's time for the BCCI and selectors to change their strategy and give more chances to youngsters. They should note how young Virat Kohli performed down under pressure.

 

India will play two T20s and the tri-series featuring Australia and Sri Lanka. Tendulkar will stay back to play in the ODIs, while Dravid and Laxman will return to India.

 

Results:

First Test (Melbourne): Australia beat India by 122 runs.

Second Test (Sydney): Australia beat India by an innings and 68 runs.

Third Test (Perth): Australia beat India by an innings and 37 runs.

Fourth Test (Adelaide): Australia beat India by 298 runs.

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