4 Instances when India ended Australia's unbeaten streaks

Ajinkya Rahane led from the front to take India to a historic 2-1 win in the just-concluded four-game Test series in Australia. The win is historic owing to a number of factors. India were shot out for only 36 in the second innings of the day-night Test in Adelaide and the humiliating defeat by 8 wickets earned them brickbats all over. Regular captain and the team’s best batsman Virat Kohli left after the first game and that made the experts write off India to forecast a 4-0 defeat.

Then there were the injuries and the visitors ended up playing as many as 20 players in the series with five making their debut. And last but not the least, Indian players faced hostile situations both on and off the ground — in terms of racial abuse from the stands and criticism over protesting strict quarantine rules.

Yet, Rahane and his boys made the most out of the three Tests after the Adelaide humiliation. A fantastic three-wicket at the Gabba which looked unlikely even after the game’s halfway stage made the victory even sweeter. This win meant India bagged two consecutive Test series against Australia Down Under — the first-ever Asian side to accomplish the feat.

But apart from winning their second successive Test series in Australia, India also added to their list of significant milestones against the Australians in Test matches with their memorable victory at the Gabba.

India end Australia’s 32-year Test unbeaten streak at Gabba:

It was their win at the Gabba that stopped the Australians’ long unbeaten streak on that ground. Australia have won 40 out of 63 games they have played on this premier venue and lost only nine. The last of those losses before the one against India came way back in 1988 when the West Indies thrashed them by 9 wickets. In between the defeats against the Caribbeans and Indians, Australia played 31 Tests at the Gabba and won 24 of them while only seven were drawn.

India, on the other hand, registered their first-ever Test win at the Gabba and it came in their seventh attempt (five losses, one draw). No other Asian nation has managed to achieve a Test win at the same venue with Pakistan losing five out of six and Sri Lanka two out of three.