Usman Khawaja lauds India's historic Test series win at Gabba, says 'Good for the game'

Australian batsman Usman Khawaja has heaped praise on the Indian Test squad that had recently won the historic series down under. Khawaja has said that any team that chases that many runs on the final day of a Test match "deserves to win", referring to Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant's heroics with the bat on Day 4 of the fourth Test match at the Gabba. Khawaja said that it is never easy to chase that many runs in the fourth innings anywhere in the world, which shows "India was a better team". 

Khawaja, while speaking to Cricwick, said that India handled Australia's bowling attack very well, adding "They blunted our pace attack, they blunted Nathan Lyon and our bowlers couldn't finish it off". The Australian batsman further reckoned that Australia had the game in Sydney, where India managed to draw the match. Khawaja said that Australian batsmen had put enough runs on the board to defend, but the bowlers couldn't finish the game. Khawaja said the way India completed the run chase was "really good for the game". 

India's Test series win

India won its second Test series in a row in Australia after it defeated the Kangaroos on their own turf earlier this year. Rishabh Pant played a crucial role in India's victory as he helped win the fourth game at the Gabba, where the Australians had not lost a Test match since 1989. Apart from Pant, several other youngsters, including Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj, also contributed and played their part in the win.

India won the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar trophy 2-1 after coming on the back of a humiliating loss in the first game of the four-match Test series, where the Kangaroos bowled out the world's number 1 Test team for just 36 runs. India had lost all its key players early on in the series but still managed to retain the trophy with a young contingent that had travelled down under as substitutes or net bowlers. The series went on to become one of the most exciting Test encounters in the history of the game. 

(Image Credit: AP/PTI)