Australia secures a draw in the Final Test 

Australia managed to secure a draw in the fourth test following a solid show by Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne on the final day of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 2023. 

India got the early breakthrough as R.Ashwin removed nightwatchman Matthew Kuhnemann with an undercutter that trapped him in front of the wicket. This also began a period of play where all three of India’s spin bowlers found some assistance from the wicket. However, they struggled to keep the pair of Head and Labuschagne in check. The duo added 139 runs for the second wicket and hardly missed any scoring opportunity. 

Ashwin remained India’s spearhead on the day, posing plenty of threats for the opposition batters even though they did not always come through in his favour. He kept India’s hunt for wickets alive on a relatively flat surface otherwise. Head survived an LBW review late in the first session against Ashwin with the umpire’s call staying on, implying India did not lose a review either.

Head and Labuschagne appeared fairly comfortable in the second session even as the runs came at a trickle. They mustered to get into the lead and stretch it further without much discomfort. Head reached his first fifty of the series and looked eager to double it up when he was bowled right through the gate while attempting a drive off the rough. Labuschagne, meanwhile, battled his way through his first fifty of the series as well, and remained unbeaten at 63. He was accompanied by the stand-in skipper who got an early reprieve by KS Bharat. 

Brief Scores: Australia 480 (Usman Khawaja 180, Cameron Green 114; R Ashwin 6-91) and 175/2 (Travis Head 90, Marnus Labuschagne 63*) draw India 571 (Virat Kohli 186, Shubman Gill 128, Axar Patel 79; Todd Murphy 3-113)