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Debutant Pujara makes 72 as India sweep series

Debutant Pujara, the first Indian to score a half-century in the fourth innings of his debut match since Sunil Gavaskar in 1971, guided India’s chase in the first two sessions before being bowled by Nathan Hauritz after adding 57 runs for the third wicket.

Man of the series Sachin Tendulkar followed up his first innings double century with an unbeaten 53 to help India chase down the 207-run target.

India’s back-to-back wins not only prolonged Australia captain Ricky Ponting’s wait for his first Test victory in the country but also pushed the tourists down to the fifth place, behind England, in the ICC rankings – their lowest rating ever.

“We have played reasonably good Test cricket but we were outplayed,” Ponting said during the presentation ceremony. “I think (Ben) Hilfenhaus and (Mitchell) Johnson have done well and Shane Watson too has been good at the top. Others were a bit inconsistent. I hope we learn from our mistakes.”

Bowler Zaheer Khan and his pace colleague Shanthakumaran Sreesanth set the tone for the home side, taking less than an hour to polish off the Australian tail after they had resumed on 202 for seven. The last three batsmen could add only 21 runs to their overnight score.

“The bowlers did a real good job. The bowling department really stepped up in both the games,” said India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

India lost Virender Sehwag early on but Pujara’s 72-run stand with opener Murali Vijay brought India’s chase back on track and Tendulkar completed the formality of victory in the company of Rahul Dravid, who was unbeaten on 21 after coming in to bat at an unfamiliar number 5 position.

The win is India’s first in Bangalore for 15 years and in scoring 207, the hosts recorded the highest run chase ever at the venue.

Tendulkar, who scored his sixth Test double hundred in the first innings, narrowly escaped being adjudged lbw when he ducked into a short delivery from Shane Watson and was struck on the shoulder by a ball that television replays suggested would have grazed the bails. But unlike in 1999 at Adelaide when the umpire Daryl Harper had ruled in favour of the bowler Glenn McGrath, Billy Bowden did not adjudge Tendulkar, who was also named man of the match, out. The batsman was on eight at the time with India at 104 for 2.

“This series was a fantastic one,” said Tendulkar. “I would like to congratulate the whole team, starting from (Vangipurappu) Laxman who helped us win, along with Ishant Sharma.”

Laxman and Sharma played an important role in India’s one-wicket win in Mohali but were ruled out of the second Test because of injuries.

The last time Australia lost all the Tests of a series was back in 1982 in Pakistan, when they lost at Karachi, Faisalabad and Lahore. It’s also the first time Australia have lost three Tests in a row since November-December 1988, when they lost to West Indies at Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne.

Tendulkar, who struck 214 and an unbeaten 53, was named the Man of the Match as well as the Man of the Series. The Mumbai batsman scored 403 runs in the series at an average of 134.33. Tendulkar, who has passed 1000 runs in a calendar year for a record sixth time, has scored 1270 runs this year in just 9 Tests and 15 innings at a phenomenal average of 97.69. With India set to play another 5 Tests this year, Tendulkar has the chance to make 2010 – during which he has already struck six 100s, including two double centuries, as well as a 98 and an 84 – the most prolific of his 21-year career.