Cricket

India win 4th test, series 2-0

India sealed their first Test series victory over top-ranked Australia in seven years on Monday after Amit Mishra and Harbhajan Singh spun the hosts to a resounding 172-run win in the fourth and final Test.

Leg-spinner Mishra and off-spinner Harbhajan shared seven wickets to bowl out Australia for 209 in their second innings with almost a session to spare on the last day, wrapping up the four-match series 2-0. Fast bowler Ishant Sharma provided the early breakthrough with the dismissals of first-innings centurion Simon Katich (16) and Michael Clarke (22) after India had set the tourists an imposing target of 382 for a series-squaring victory.

“We had motivation, we had plans, the best part was we executed them very well,” India’s new captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said. “The fast bowlers did the trick for us in the series. They bowled their hearts out and were backed by the spinners and part-time bowlers.”

Tags: Australia, Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2008, India